The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie
by Sakah
Summary: Bella and Edward's wedding day has arrived, but the unexpected happens. An unlikely event crashes it; no, it's not the Volturi or Jacob, but the cold hard truth.
1. Reality Hurts

Overwhelming scents of roses and other flowers that Bella couldn't identify filled the room with a sweet fragrance. This was it. She would fulfill the last demand of Edward's that would join them together for the rest of the eternity. Alice must've sensed her anxiety because she danced towards her in the blink of an eye.

"Cheer up, this is your _wedding_. Let me help you get your dress on," She trilled in delight. Alice gracefully led her to a tall mirror and brought out Bella's antique, yet beautiful wedding dress. Alice rambled on about how much trouble it caused her to order the right (human) food on such a short notice. Bella smirked at this; she knew how excited Alice was with preparing every little detail for her wedding.

Even though Alice had promised her wedding to be an unforgettable day; her hands shook whenever she thought about her wedding guests. Rosalie's patient smile from behind made her feel slightly better; ever since that night Rosalie finally explained her behavior to her, slowly but surely, an everlasting friendship began to grow. She couldn't imagine how flawless Edward would look in a tuxedo; it made her lightheaded to even try. She suddenly wondered if Jacob would come to her wedding or not; she wholeheartedly understood if he chose to not arrive.

Even so, a pang of sadness swept through her chest. She had a strong feeling that she wouldn't see Jacob ever again, regardless of whether she changed into a vampire or not. The strength of her and Edward's love would become that much more obvious after she would say "I do." As she had explained to Edward and herself over and over again - she knew what she could live through, and leaving Edward wasn't one of them.

"It's time." Rosalie lightly touched her shoulder, startling Bella out of her scattered daydream. They led her to the entrance of the magnificent church. She gave a shaky sigh when she saw Charlie - love and plain excitement shining his features - ready to lead her down the aisle.

He took a hold of her arm and as they slowly walked down the aisle; Bella finally settled her gaze on her future husband. His scorching golden eyes were filled with all the love and joy of the world - his beauty radiated the entire church and captured her heart. His gaze pulled her like a magnet as she walked down the aisle without managing to trip on her dress' full skirt. She barely noticed as Charlie let go and Bella completely ignored the priest's words as she stared lovingly back into Edward's eyes.

She regained focus when Edward said, "I do." This was the happiest moment of Bella's entire life - all of the dangers and heartbreak that she had to face was worth it. She now knew better than to bet against Alice again. Her pixie sister in law was right: she was entirely grateful that Alice had made this perfect.

As the words, "I do," formed on her mouth, a persistent alarm woke her up.

"What?" she whispered to herself, studying the room. She shook her head in confusion; looking around, she realized she was still in her bedroom, tangled in the sheets of her messy bed. Her wedding hadn't happened yet. She wondered why Edward wasn't there to greet her like he always was.

_Oh well, maybe he needed to hunt with Jasper and Emmett and I completely forgot about it,_ she thought as she grasped for some reason to explain why Edward was gone. She quickly got dressed in a casual outfit of a blue sweater and jeans - Edward's favorite outfit on her. She raced down the stairs, eager to spend the day at the Cullen's house again. Charlie met her hurried pace with a frown.

"Eager for your first day of school?" He asked, confused.

"What do you mean? College?" She asked back, pouring some cereal into a bowl.

"What do _you_ mean? You have to finish your Junior year and Senior year here first." He joked. Bella froze and the spoon in her hand dropped when his words settled in.

Junior and senior year? She had already finished high school already…right? She gazed into Charlie's eyes and took in his honest yet slightly confused facial expression.

_Oh no,_ she thought as it clicked. Then the kitchen around her started to whirl sickeningly and her hands shook violently.

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you nervous about meeting new people at Forks High?" Charlie asked worriedly. He must have noticed her most recent near-tumble to the floor had little to do with her usual clumsiness. "Don't worry about it, the kids around here are friendly," he said reassuringly.

"Nothing at all," she managed to squeak. Maybe it was a belated April Fool's joke that Charlie forgot to celebrate. She tried to quiet her agitated thoughts and decided that she would get through the day to see if he was joking or not.

She picked up her book bag and called a good-bye behind her as she climbed in her Chevy. She drove to its creaky limits and ignored the whining that her car gave her. If she hadn't met Edward and it was all a dream, what would she do? She silenced the question at once, in order to keep her sanity in check.

She didn't want to think about what she would do if it really _had _been a long, brilliant dream. Carefully parking her car by the administration building, she scanned the student parking lot and let out a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar shiny silver Volvo. Okay, it was a good sign so far. It had to be Edward's Volvo; nobody else around would be able to afford one. If the people she knew really existed, that is.

_I'm not going insane, I'm not going insane, _she repeated the mantra in her mind numbly, over and over again. She entered the orange office once again, with a feeling of déjà vu clouding her senses.

"Can I help you?" Ms. Cope asked her politely. Bella used all the strength she could muster to not faint or throw up on her.

"I'm Isabella Swan," she replied, feeling a hard lump in her throat rise.

"Of course," said Ms. Cope as she once again, dug through a stack of documents and handed her the correct papers. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school."

Bella grabbed the papers and ran out of the office before Ms. Cope could highlight the best routes to each class. She weighed her options of what to do next. Should she play out her first day of school _again_?


	2. Blind Love?

Bella grumbled and her hands stiffened on the straps of her book bag when she noticed Eric passing by her, no doubt on his way to English. _I can do this, I'll get through the day and see if Edward…exists or not_, she cringed at the word "exists." She'd experienced many weird things – hanging out with vampires and werewolves can do that to a human – but this one took the cake.

_What if Edward and the rest of the Cullens __**do**__ exist? Would they remember me? This can't really be my first stay at Forks High…_these thoughts haunted her very being. A sharp chorus of the school bell alerted her to her first class of the day. She hastily entered her English room and gave Mr. Mason her slip. She studied the room with anxious eyes and desperately tried to remember where she had previously sat before.

It was as she had feared – her classmates that stared at her with eager expressions were the same classmates that she knew _in her junior year of English_. She easily ignored her classmates and Mr. Mason for the rest of the hour. As the clock's hands seemed to tick by much more slowly than usual; a faint feeling of nausea twisted at her insides and made her heart pound in apprehension.

She met face to face with reality once the bell rang again. Eric turned around and gave her a friendly smile. "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"

"Bella," She corrected with a strained smile.

"Where's your next class?" He asked with an eager expression on his face.

"Government with Jefferson, building six," She pretended to rummage through her bag for her schedule.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..." She decided that it would be safer to stick with the same friends that she had made from before. "I'm Eric."

"Thanks." She genuinely smiled. They walked together to her next class and she said a good-bye before entering her next class. A sense of dread filled her when she

thought about how many classes she still had to go through before it was time for lunch.

She continued to receive curious stares from her classmates, even though she hadn't spoken to any of them at all today. She was terrified to even _try_ to talk; she felt that she would start crying if she did. Jessica turned around from her seat to talk to her. Oh no, Jessica! Would she be able to "meet" her _again_?

"Hi, you're the new kid that everyone's talking about," Jessica greeted. "Isabella Swan, right? My name is Jessica Stanley. How do you like Forks so far?" Jessica chewed her gum noisily.

_Same old, same old. Nothing new, I was just about to marry my true love when I found out that it's all A DREAM!!_ Bella tried her best to not grit her teeth.

"I go by Bella. Forks is…interesting." She struggled to keep a normal smile on her face. The bell rang again.

"Oh, it's time for lunch. Want to join me?" Jessica asked, leading the way to the cafeteria. Sweat broke out all over Bella's body when Jessica said this. _This is where I first saw the Cullens. Should I play it casual and eat with Jess? _Her original plan of repeating her first day at Forks suddenly looked like a terrible idea. _Should I skip lunch? Should I avoid Edward? _An endless amount of options appeared before her, with each one becoming more and more ridiculous. As they both entered the cafeteria, Bella's body couldn't handle the stress any longer and she felt herself going under. "Bella?!" Jessica's screech was the last thing that she heard.

Soft, warm hands shook her shoulders lightly. Warm? It must be Jacob. Wait a minute. Why would _Jacob_ be _here_? Bella thought that he wouldn't speak to her ever again. The warm hands shook her a little harder, and she floated closer to consciousness. The past with Forks had all been a dream, including Jacob. Still, he wouldn't have any reason to be here, at Forks High. Her curiosity demanded her to wake up, just so she could discern if the past year-and-a-half had been a dream.

Bella opened her eyes and nearly fainted at what she saw. It was Edward kneeling over her all right. But he was _human_! His concerned, green eyes had been the first clue. The next, obvious clue was that his touch was warm, not the stony, cold touch that had the capability to shock her entire system. It comforted her to know that his tousled, bronze hair hadn't changed, and he was still pretty handsome.

"Are you alright?" His soft voice was a little huskier, she noted with a surprise. She stopped studying his features to notice a crowd behind him. It was Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper! Obviously they were humans too; their features hadn't changed significantly.

"Oh, yes, I'm alright Ed - um, I mean…thanks for asking!" She poorly disguised the nervousness in her tone. "My name's Bella Swan." She added.

"Edward Cullen," Cullen? Were Esme and Carlisle still his "adopted" parents? "This is Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper," Edward pointed behind his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't need to see the nurse?"

"Positive." She made a face at the thought of seeing the nurse. "Thanks for, er, saving me." _Well, I just left quite a cliché for him to remember me by; a phrase that a damsel in distress would say out of a cheesy .99 romance novel_._ Time to dig up gossip about the Cullens from Jessica_. She trudged back to Jessica's table with a heavy heart.

"Hey Bella! Are you okay?" Jessica asked as Bella sat back down next to her.

"I'm fine," She debated in her head whether she should ask Jessica about the Cullens or not. "What do you know about the boy who just now caught me? Edward Cullen, I think? And what about his family?" she asked with a fake innocence.

"The Cullens are practically _royal_! They're really rich and they moved here two years ago. They're pretty popular around here," Well, this was not at all like her dream. "They're all kids from different families, except for Jasper and Rosalie, the blondes. They're twins. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted them when they were kids, or something like that," Jessica must've noticed her staring at Edward, because she added with a smirk, "I'm dating Edward."

_Never mind about this being a new Jessica_, Bella concluded quickly. A commonly used cliché summed up her situation perfectly; she thought that her day couldn't get any worse, and of course, it did. _Just my luck_, she thought in frustration. For the rest of the lunch period, she chatted with her "new" friends, and for the last few minutes of lunch, she shyly took quick peeks towards Edward's table.

Bella felt her heart pound uneasily in her chest; it was time for Biology. _At least Edward's intent isn't to drink my blood_. She weakly laughed at the thought. She told Jessica good-bye and walked to her Biology class in low spirits. She handed Mr. Banner a slip, and looked up at her old lab table in surprise.

At last, there was a repeated moment that she was eternally grateful for; Edward's table was once again, the only empty table. She struggled to not skip down the aisle in glee, which would undoubtedly end up as a klutzy disaster. Bella sat down next to Edward and tried to look surprised at the coincidence of this accidental arrangement. This time, Edward didn't scoot his chair far away from hers.

"Hello Bella," he greeted politely.

"Hi Edward." A hot flush accidentally crept up to her face. _Argh, I can't be blushing in front of him!_ She felt like slapping herself for this slip up. A hollow ache rang in her chest when she remembered how much dream Edward had masochistically loved the way she looked and smelled when she blushed.

He didn't seem to take notice though; his attention turned to Mr. Banner at the exact moment. Foolishly, it had surprised her how _different_ the class period turned out to be. She half expected him to glare at her with hungry, black eyes at any moment. Her posture didn't relax at all being this close to Edward in Biology.

A breath she didn't know she'd been holding back whooshed from her lungs at the sound of the bell.

"See you around." Edward gave her a gentle smile and somehow, his green eyes managed to smolder.

"Bye." She replied back, watching him leave the room in a graceful pace.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" A much too familiar voice asked her. _Enter Mike Newton_, she thought sarcastically.

"Bella." She corrected him with a half-hearted smile.

"I'm Mike." He smiled back.

"Gym's my next class." The words came out sharper than she had meant them – all the little déjà vu moments were starting to really aggravate her.

"Gym's my next class too, follow me." Mike was as cheerful and loyal as ever.

Dream or no dream, her eye coordination was still terrible as ever. She was definitely not going to enjoy going through two years of gym again, that's for sure. All those little details washed out of her mind once her thoughts focused back to Edward. What _was_ she going to do with Edward?

It hurt her deeply to know that he was dating already. _I guess it makes sense though_, she thought sadly. The last part of her dream – the wedding – stood out prominently out in her mind. The wedding had been so beautiful so far, before she'd woken up. She couldn't believe that her dream self would be so stubborn about marriage. Would it have made a difference?

_When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end_. Those were her words that she believed in when James was about to hunt her; now, she wasn't so sure about the accuracy of those words.


	3. Oddly Satisfying

To Bella's relief, Gym class and the humiliating memories it held on to ended pretty quickly. She had observed four volleyball matches with a shudder; she knew that she wouldn't manage to survive through a single volleyball match without battle scars. These everyday troubles distanced themselves as a more serious question loomed overhead; what would her next move be? The delicacy of her situation became clearer and clearer to her now; she has complete control of her fate again.

Her "first" encounter with Edward had made it very apparent that monsters and magic never existed in the first place. Her hand on the door of the Chevy froze in surprise as this thought sunk in. It meant that all of the vampire and werewolf myths she had accepted what seemed like ages ago had been a figment of her subconscious. Her mind went numb with shock, and before she knew it, her Chevy was riding down a very familiar, woodsy road.

An unconscious stream of tears slid down her cheek, when she finally realized where she was going. The two walls of trees and plants that surrounded her faded away into an elaborate drive way. Through her squinty eyes, she recognized a bright white mansion – the Cullens' house. Before she could even think about turning around, Alice Cullen appeared next to her speckled window. She hesitated before cranking the window handle down - what possible excuse could she give Alice to explain why she was at her house?

"Hello Bella," Alice peered through the window with a furrowed brow.

"Hi Alice," Bella murmured shyly, not meeting her curious gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Alice's tone implied, "How you know where I live?"

"I-I…" Bella stuttered, wracking through her brain for a good excuse. "I heard that you guys are having a party, and I wanted to know when it was. I don't know your number, so..." She silently prayed that Alice wouldn't see through her half-lie. At lunch, Jessica had gushed over the details of her boyfriend's party that would occur in his house. Although she desperately wanted to build a real relationship with the Cullens, her opinions on parties hadn't wavered at all.

"Oh yeah, that party! It's tomorrow at 6:00, after school. Everybody's invited, so you can come if you want to. It's just a get-together thing since it's the beginning of the year, and all." Alice's suspicious expression immediately faded.

"That sounds fun, of course I'll come," she replied cheerfully. "See you tomorrow, Alice." She said as she gave a little wave. Alice nodded and curiously peered into the back of Bella's truck until it became a tiny, red beetle on the road. Alice felt a light hand press onto her shoulder and turned around.

"Who was that?" Rosalie asked with an 'I-couldn't-care-less' expression on her face. Only a faint glitter of scattered emotions – curiosity and amusement – in her eyes gave her intentions away.

"Bella Swan, the girl that Edward saved in the cafeteria today. I could be wrong, but…I think she has a crush on Edward," Alice explained, her brow furrowed in concentration. Yes, her intuition had hinted that Bella Swan would visit, but not _exactly_ because of the party they were throwing.

"Of _course_ she does – and it's not only because your "predictions" have never been wrong yet – every girl in Forks High has a crush on him," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"She could be a better girlfriend for Edward," Alice's tone was thoughtful. "She doesn't stare at him with empty heads and drooling mouths the way the other girls do." Edward - being naturally handsome - commonly received a variety of stares from girls. Bella's stare was very puzzling and strange indeed; it was as if she were staring at a long-lost lover that she hadn't seen in years.

Alice didn't worry about this stare too much; she could tell from the gentleness in her stare that she didn't mean any harm. She shrugged off her suspicions and in a graceful pose, followed Rosalie back to their front door.

Bella arrived at her house in irritation - a downpour of rain caught her by surprise - and greeted Charlie on the way to her room. _I can't imagine the Cullens throwing a party. Seeing as Alice is still Alice, it must've been her idea._ She absolutely loathed parties, but she grudgingly accepted that this was one party that she _had_ to crash. She needed to know how different the real Cullens were from her "dream" Cullens.

She took a quick shower and swiftly dressed into her pajamas. She knew that it was too early to go to bed, but she had to sleep again and discover what the next events in her dreams would be. She snapped the lights off and crawled into her snug bed impatiently. After a few silent minutes, she thought about her dream Edward and suddenly ached for his cold, comforting touch.

She felt a hollow ache in her chest that was similar to the ache she felt when her dream- Edward left. At that moment, she had no idea what she would do to fix her relationship with Edward; it hurt her deeply to know that he was dating at all, nonetheless Jessica Stanley! Sharp pains of jealousy stabbed at her heart, greedily chewing at the edges of her chest.

Jealousy eventually changed into anger, sadness, and back into an exhaustion that sent Bella into deep, unwelcoming sleep. She first dreamt about the empty maze that had haunted her endlessly for months, and it flashed back into her subconscious as quickly as it came. Finally, her dreams settled into a warm scene that had ended last night.

_Bella had to rub her eyes twice before she could believe what she was seeing. She was standing at the edge of her meadow, and there was Edward, bare-chested and beckoning his pale finger over to the spot next to him. She unthinkingly skipped over to the middle of the sunny meadow and curled her arms around his chest. She inhaled his wonderful scent and her heart thumped unevenly at his welcoming touch._

_Edward put a finger under her chin and lifted it so they could meet each other's gazes. His warm, butterscotch eyes met her own brown eyes in amusement._

"_I've missed you," His velvety voice was saturated with happiness._

"_I missed you too," Bella replied, lightly tracing the contours of his flawless face. Their lips softly met, and as always, the kiss became rough as she entwined her fingers into his bronze hair. Surprisingly, Edward didn't protest and their caresses became much more urgent than they were both used to._

_Bella became utterly hypnotized in their unusual kiss and didn't stop to notice the sky darken. A loud noise that sounded like an enormous heart beat replaced the usual chirping of birds and insects. A chilly heaviness in the air seemed to sigh its deadly breath and the flowers that surrounded the meadow turned into dust. The consistent heartbeat continued to thump, but Bella mistook it for her own._

_Bella broke the spell of the kiss and felt an undeniable fear that someone was behind her. She jerked around and saw only the blackened trees and the dust that had once been colorful flowers. An ominous fog seeped into the meadow and finally caught her attention; there was something terribly wrong here. Her muscles protested against her stillness and warned her run as fast as possible._

_She unwillingly turned back around and a piercing scream escaped her throat. Edward was glaring at her hungrily, and his eyes were completely black, filled with an ancient evil that had been around since the dawn of man. This wasn't the Edward she knew; deep down, she knew it was the monster that Edward had repeatedly warned her about. She unsuccessfully tried to struggle against him, and his steely grip caught her left arm._

"_Why did you leave me Bella?" An unfamiliar voice came out of Edward's mouth. He grinned a smile that would only belong to a hunter, and grabbed her other arm._

"_You're not Edward!" Bella repeated over and over again until the three words became meaningless. 'This is only a nightmare! Wake up right now!' she screamed at her subconscious. _She gave one last scream of terror before she woke up to find Charlie right in front of her, gripping her shoulders in fear.

"Bella, you were screaming in your sleep. What happened?" Charlie pulled her into a comforting embrace. She felt a few tears fall from her eyes and buried her face into his shoulder.

"I-it was n-n-nothing. Just a-a bad n-nightmare," Bella replied groggily.

"It's 5:30 am right now. You look really tired, try to go back to sleep," he put a hand to Bella's forehead. "You have a fever. I'll call the school to let them know that you're not going to school." His words were already fading as she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

Bella woke up with a start and squinted against the bright light that filtered through her window. She twisted her neck towards her alarm clock that glowed 2:30 pm. A note underneath it caught her attention and she held it in her hands carefully.

_I'll be back by 6:30 tonight, call me if you need anything. _

_Love, Dad_

Below the clumsy scrawl was the number to the local police department. She suppressed a sigh and stretched out her arms, feeling her elbows creak in protest. She was disheartened as she stared at the note.; she remembered in clarity every single detail of her terrible nightmare last night. A big yawn filled the silence and she rushed into the bathroom, eager to take a hot shower.

Her nightmare only seemed to make her more nervous and eager for Edward's upcoming party. Of course she was still planning to go; despite her dream, she still craved Edward's company. She raced through her shower much more quickly than she anticipated, and dressed into a pair of worn out jeans and an old sweater.

As she brushed through her tangled locks; she searched through her wardrobe for the right outfit that she would wear for the party. She finally decided to wear a new pair of jeans and a blue sweater. She stubbornly fought against the images of her nightmare Edward; nothing would get in her way as she met the Cullens tonight.


	4. Pale Memories

Bella found a can of chicken noodle soup, which she left in the cupboard. _Do I really have to gain Charlie's trust over kitchen duties again?_ she thought as she filled a pan with oil and set it on the stove. She decided to fry fish for Charlie in the meantime, as a poor attempt to get her mind off of the party. Even though Alice had definitely been eager enough to invite her to the party, it still didn't change the fact that Bella hadn't the slightest clue of how to "party." It terrified her that she didn't even know what kind of behavior the Cullens would expect out of her.

The rest of the day had been uneventful – it was too rainy to read outside, so Bella decided to curl up in a ball on her couch and re-read _Mansfield Park_. When the sun had finally set, she left a bookmark in her book and glanced at the plain clock on the wall. Her heart skipped a beat as she read 5:48, and she quickly dressed into her outfit and a pair of boots. It was too late to do anything fancy with her hair, so she pinned her bangs to the side with a tiny blue bow. She left a note for Charlie explaining where she was and left in haste.

Her ride to the Cullens' house hadn't taken as long as she expected. The row of cars that were parked in their drive way had extended halfway to the end of the street. Loud music pounded in her ears and alerted her that the party had already begun. As Bella shuffled through their half-open door, Alice appeared in front her and a smile formed on her face.

"Hi Bella, let's go join my siblings and see what they're up to," Alice laughed with a manic gleam in her eye. Bella didn't trust Alice's expression, but warily followed her with a patient smile. They had to worm their way through the tightly packed crowd, and eventually reached a leather couch. Jasper and Emmett looked like they were arguing about something, whilst Edward and Jessica were chatting while holding hands. Bella's smile stiffened and she had to grit her teeth silently so she wouldn't cry.

"Hey guys, look who showed up! Bella Swan!" Alice had to cup her hands to her mouth and yell over the deafening rock music. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Jessica stopped their current activities to greet Bella.

"I'm glad you could make it," Edward gave her a quick smile that sent Bella's heart thump unevenly.

"Hello," Jasper gave her a polite nod.

"Welcome to the Cullens' pad!" Emmett laughed and shook her hand roughly.

"There's enough room for everyone, so scoot over!" Alice sat down next to Jessica and waved her hand towards Bella. Bella timidly sat down and scanned the room with a casual expression.

"So, where did you move from?" Alice asked with a burning curiosity in her tone. Bella hesitated before replying.

"Phoenix, Arizona. My mom re-married and I sent myself here, so she can travel with Phil. He has a lot of minor league baseball games to play," For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to lie to Alice. She figured if she was going to establish a good relationship with the Cullens again; why not tell them the truth? Atleast, the truth that she was willing to fess up to – which did not include her recent dreams.

Sympathy tugged at the edges of Alice's smile and she continued to hold Bella's gaze.

"Ugh, could we change the station? I know a really good station that plays hip hop." Jessica whined.

"Bella's a new guest, so I think she should choose the next station," Alice intervened. "What kind of music do you listen to?"

"Bits and pieces of different kinds of music. I really like Debussy's music," Bella slightly raised her voice at the last sentence, feeling self-conscious.

"You listen to Debussy?" Edward leaned over and gazed into her eyes in excitement. He suddenly bolted from the couch and tread across the room, towards the speakers. He switched the volume off and quickly strode to his piano. Bella's heart skipped a beat as his pale fingers seemed to silently study the sleek keys.

The noisy crowd settled down once they noticed Edward on the piano bench. Their fascinated stares clearly expressed the depth of their appreciation for his piano skills. A simple tune that steadily increased into a complex composition filled the silence, and captured everyone's attention. There was a dark beauty to the song that completely fascinated Bella – it strangely reminded her of the lullaby that dream-Edward had composed for her, except it sounded so _lonely_. A hard lump in her throat rose and she squinted back the tears that threatened to flow – the song was beautiful beyond description.

The song finally ended, and the crowd erupted in clapping and cheers.

"That was amazing," Bella told Edward as he squeezed through the crowd to sit back down next to Jessica.

"Thank you. I'm always glad to meet a Debussy fan," Edward gave her a crooked smile.

The rest of the party had gone far better than Bella expected possible. They joked around about various teachers, and she found herself relax and join the conversation in an animated manner. She lost track of time, until Alice asked her what time she needed to be home by.

"It's almost 9:30," Alice checked her watch. Bella's posture froze and her eyes widened in surprise. _I wrote to Charlie that I'd only be here for an hour or two! _

"I'm sorry, but I really need to leave. I'll see you guys tomorrow and thanks for the invitation!" she scrambled off of the couch and headed out the door.

"Bye Bella!" Alice yelled. "I'll see you at lunch!"

Lunch? But the Cullens had sat at another table at lunch yesterday – what had changed to have them decide to sit with her now? Maybe it actually had something to do with Jessica. She shrugged off these over-all unimportant questions and drove back home. Through the bleak headlights of her truck, she saw the outline of Charlie with the front door open behind him. She parked her Chevy, turned the ignition off, and kept a steady pace towards the front door. A number of likely and not-so-likely excuses to give Charlie ran through her head as she came closer and closer to her house.

"You're late," Charlie's worried tone revealed a hint of anger.

"I'm sorry, Dad. The party was really fun and I lost track of time," Bella tried to explain. "I would've called you, but I forgot…" Charlie seemed to accept this answer and gave her a warm smile.

"There weren't any drugs or alcohol? Any boys that caught your eye?" he joked, struggling to keep a serious face.

"Of course not, to all three questions," she smiled. "Did you know that Edward Cullen is a talented pianist?" They both left the cold outside, and entered their cozy living room.

"No, I didn't know that. The Cullens are popular around here, and I never have to put up with any trouble from Dr. Cullen's kids." Bella gave a sigh of relief at this – he obviously approved the Cullen family and Edward. Charlie sat back down on the couch and turned his attention to a basketball game on television.

"Good night!" she called over her shoulder as she was raced towards her bedroom.

"'Night," Charlie vaguely replied.

Bella changed into her pajamas and turned on her computer. As it slowly chugged into life, she sat there and thought about her recent dreams. Even though her last dream had been frightening, she still longed to be with dream-Edward and his family. She knew that her fixations on these dreams were becoming unhealthy, but she had decided that it didn't matter for the moment. All that mattered was to be with the Cullens _and_ their dream counter-parts.

She turned on the internet and after getting rid of a few pop-ups, she checked her inbox. She received three e-mails from her mom and replied back to one of them. She described her immediate impression of Forks and little details about school and the party. Afterwards, she shut down her computer, turned off the lights, and snuggled into her bed.

She mentally braced herself for her upcoming dreams – she had a very strong feeling she would be meeting Edward again. As she concentrated on the soothing sounds of the rain outside, she felt herself slowly fall into her personal dream world.

_Bella's expectant gaze quickly became confused once she realized she was surrounded by a chaotic pattern of undefined colors._

"_Hello? Edward?" she asked, feeling very frightened._

"_Bella," Edward whispered in her ear. She jerked around and met his terrified, golden gaze. Before she could even greet him, he stood a few steps back._

"_Bella, listen to me and listen well. You have to get out of Forks as soon as possible. Go back to Renee and stay with her. If you don't…" His voice suddenly sounded strangely distant and she could only pick up a few words of the rest of his speech. "They…coming…leave…or else…now…dangerous…"_

"_I-I can't hear you. Where are you going, Edward?" Bella became more and more terrified as her dream and Edward started to fade. "I don't understand your warning!"_

Her dream faded and she found herself in a dreamless, empty sleep. Streaks of cold light that filtered through the windows woke her up. She sighed in frustration and looked at her alarm clock. It was 6:30, which meant that she definitely needed to get up soon and get ready for school. A much more important matter was at hand – what was Edward trying to warn her about, and why did he want her out of Forks?


	5. LightDark

Bella tried to act as normal as possible for Charlie's sake – she didn't want to worry Charlie with her strange dreams. Unfortunately, she knew it would be fruitless to worry over these troubling dreams in school, especially since she wanted to 'repair' her relationship with the Cullens without giving them the impression that she ignores people on a regular basis. Charlie's last few words, which suspiciously sounded like 'wolf problem', pulled her out of her hazy daydream and back into reality.

"What did you say?" she struggled to mask the panic in her voice and keep a casual, disinterested frown on her face.

"It looks like a couple of wolves had escaped from a local zoo. The news said to keep out of the woods until they gather them up again," Charlie explained using a cool and collect tone, which he only used when he was warning her about something extremely dangerous. "I want you to promise me you won't go hiking around here until they collect the wolves."

"I promise I won't go hiking around here at all," she replied with a solemn look in her eyes. Truthfully, she didn't know if she would be able to keep this promise. Her dream-self had been a 'danger magnet' and she had a foreboding feeling she would get into some kind of trouble, too. A shot of fear for herself and Charlie tingled through her system; she could very well be dealing with something even deadlier than a vampire from her dreams and not even know about it. She swallowed back her fears, and managed to tell Charlie to "Have a good day at work."

Charlie dumped his dishes in the sink and called a 'good-bye' behind him as he left the house. She quickly stumbled upstairs to her room to get dressed into a cozy outfit and collect her backpack. After hastily gulping down a bowl of corn flakes, she left the bowl in the sink and carefully marched towards her rusty Chevy. The fact that a light veil of snow coated the ground and her car left her with a queasy feeling in her stomach. The engine stuttered and after a few more tries, the ignition flared the engine into a deafening roar.

As she finally reached Fork High's student parking lot, she became extremely aware of the other students' – especially Tyler's – cars and their proximity to her own. She gave a slight shudder at the thought of dealing with Tyler's oncoming van once again without dream-Edward there to save her. After she parked the car, she gingerly placed her right foot on the slick ground. She took a deep breath, placed her other foot next to her right foot, and pushed herself out of the Chevy. She gave a squeal of surprise as her feet gave out under her and she landed on her behind. Her face burned as she stood up and supported her weight against the door. She could immediately tell that this was not going to be one of her luckier days.

Her words undoubtedly came back to haunt her, and every little thing she seemed to do went wrong for the rest of the day. During English, the ink from her pen started to bleed on her jeans, and she missed the first fifteen minutes of her next class, trying to wash the stain out. Later on, she happened to greet Edward in the hallway and trip over her own feet in the process. _This is not my day_, she silently fumed to herself as she walked with Jessica to the cafeteria. Her mouth slightly opened in surprise as she turned her gaze on her usual table – there was Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper, laughing and eating among her other friends like they had always sat there.

Her eyes tightened in the teensiest fraction in suspicion at this arrangement. Why were the Cullens sitting at Jessica's table now, when they didn't on Bella's first day of Forks High? A new revelation dawned in her mind and settled into her suspicious thoughts as she tried to come up with a rational conclusion. _I think that Edward and Jessica are having relationship issues_. She couldn't believe how occupied her mind had been, when the clues were right under her nose the whole time. She carefully observed them both from the corners of her eyes during the whole lunch period.

If one was observant enough, it was obvious how strained their relationship actually turned out to be. Edward and Jessica sat close to their other neighbors and their movements were slightly stiff when they were in close contact to each other. She also noticed the hard glints in their eyes, and how they gritted their teeth as they forced small talk upon one another. _Maybe they just had a fight? I wonder what happened…_her train of thought was interrupted by Mike's announcement.

"Hey guys, I think we should plan a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in a few weeks. It'd be the perfect time to go," said Mike as he gave Bella a wink. "What do you think?" He gazed at the rest of them with plain excitement glowing on his facial expressions.

"It sounds like a great idea!" Alice piped up. The rest of the table chimed in and eagerly agreed with Alice.

Bella's heart skipped a beat when Mike mentioned the La Push reservation. She had completely forgotten about Jacob and Sam Uley's pack. She tried to fit the missing pieces of the mysterious puzzle together – since the Cullens turned out to be human, would the Quileute tribe turn out to be human too? Or would they still be werewolves? A pressure grew against her skull and she could feel a headache on its way. She was sorely tempted to raise her fist against the sky and scream, "Why, oh _why_ can't I live a normal life just like the other six billion human beings on this planet? What makes me so different from the others?" Instead, she ignored these thoughts, and concentrated on finishing her chicken burger and her bottle of lemonade.

As inevitable as it was, the bell rang once again and forced her to concentrate on her next class, Biology.

The rest of the school day went by in an alarming blur, and left Bella lightheaded. Jumbled thoughts of her future relationships with Edward and Jacob occupied her mind as her Chevy groaned its way back home. Once she arrived back to her house, she busied herself with making a light dinner. Charlie arrived a little later than expected and they slowly enjoyed their silent meal. After she cleaned the dishes, Charlie flopped himself onto his arm chair and asked her to join him in the living room.

Bella raised an eyebrow in confusion at this request – what could possibly be on TV that Charlie would want to show her? She drifted to the sofa and attentively listened to the current program. It was the nightly news channel, which showed pictures of the escaped wolves and strange information about these particular wolves. Her eyes widened in horror at these pictures; these wolves looked like freakishly mutated mammals that were as big as horses.

_No, it can't be true_, she thought as her composure became absolutely still and her mouth froze into an "o" figure. The horrifying truth which had cleverly veiled itself became exposed – this world truly held mythical creatures such as werewolves. And since werewolves can't exist without vampires and vice versa, well, you get the idea. Uncontrollable giggles escaped her throat and warned her of how close she was to a possible breakdown.

"What's so funny?" Charlie asked as a cautious frown formed on his face.

"Are those wolves really wolves? I mean, look at how ridiculous they are. They don't even _look_ like wolves," Bella tried to joke in an animated manner, and she raised her arms in the air to exaggerate the effect. "Are they even from America?"

"Well…the news said that they're a new breed that came from Canada and scientists wanted to test them here," Charlie replied as his frown lessened a little bit. "They do look pretty huge for wolves. See, Bella, I wasn't joking around when I said it would be a dangerous idea to hike in these woods."

Bella nodded and ignored this supposed "information" from the news. She knew that the news station had no idea whatsoever of what these monstrous beings were, and they only made up these lies to safely warn the public. The only problem was the question of what officials would do next. These wolves could very well be Sam Uley's pack and it would be her fault if any harm came to them.

"Good-night, Dad." she said as she stumbled upstairs to her room to gather pajamas to wear after she took a quick shower.

She was determined to find out any necessary information from dream-Edward tonight. Maybe he would explain his warning from last night's dream and tell her the identities of the "escaped" werewolves. This extreme determination prevented her from drifting into sleep as easily as usual, but she didn't take any medicine to solve this problem. Instead, she let her memories of her meadow drown out all of her other worries and she could almost feel the breezy, electrical shock that her and dream-Edward had shared.

_Bella found herself surrounded by the Cullens' living room with only Alice there to greet her. She gave a little scream of surprise and hugged Alice with all of her feeble strength._

"_Alice, you do not know how good it is to see you again!" She stopped to notice Alice's blank expression. Alice turned her focus to Bella and continued to stare at her with blank eyes._

"_Things are not always as they seem to be. Take heed of this warning or else you will find yourself facing Death with no escape," Bella had to strain her ears to hear Alice's quiet warning._

"_Listen to what Alice has to say, she's speaking the truth!" Esme appeared before her and she took Bella's hands into her own. "The safest thing for you and Charlie is to leave here and Forks forever! Please Bella, believe in what we're telling you." Her golden gaze was filled with pure concern and love._

Dream-Alice and Esme's warnings faintly echoed in her dreams until she felt a light grip on her arm. The hands started to shake her a little and she recognized Charlie's voice whispering in her ear, "Wake up Bella, or else you'll be late for school." Her eyes flew open and she saw Charlie closing the door behind him.

She gave a moan of frustration and punched her pillows in response to her latest dream. "Why are these dreams becoming more and more strange?" she muttered to herself in exasperation. _It was never going to end, was it_? She thought about the chilling truth to these words, but instead of knowing it was Victoria hunting her down this time, she had no clue of _what_ was after her this very moment.


	6. Red Moon

The next day, Mike and the rest of Bella's friends finally selected a date for their trip to the La Push reservation. They would meet at Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store next weekend on Saturday. Although Bella was a little nervous about meeting the real Jacob, she was pleased to finally have a chance to form a friendship with him. As her excitement grew, the week ahead of her seemed to stretch out longer than usual. Her dreams and the Cullens' warnings became more and more ominous as Saturday approached.

**Saturday**

Bella's impatience for the following trip to La Push only seemed to make her morning pass by much more slowly than usual. After taking a quick shower and dressing into something light, she impulsively checked the clock from the corners of her eyes every few minutes. They were supposed to arrive by noon, and although it was only 11:00, she contemplated whether if she should leave an hour early or not. It felt as if she were leading two separate lives; one filled with mysterious warnings and magic, and one where her biggest worry of life was to pass her next exams.

She was careful to not blend these two lives together and make her friends suspicious of her actions. Call it paranoia, but her intuition had been warning her lately that something awful was going to happen. The last thing she needed was for unknown monsters to haunt her new friends and Charlie when things just started to seem normal. She let out a sigh of exasperation, grabbed her keys, and locked the house behind her before she could change her mind and turn back around. Since it was only 11:28 by the time she arrived, she decided to grab lunch at a nearby fast food restaurant.

When it was exactly noon, she left and quickly paced towards Newtons' Olympic Outfitters store. Everyone, including the Cullens, Ben, Angela, Jessica, Mike, and a few other people had arrived by then. There wasn't enough room in Mike's car for everyone there, so Bella offered to give Alice and Rosalie a ride. For some reason, they both looked a little reluctant to accept her ride and she found out the reason fairly quickly.

"So, what's La Push like?" The uncomfortable silence had started to make Bella nervous so she decided to make small talk with Alice.

"Bella, why didn't you offer Edward and one of us a ride instead?" Rosalie asked with a frown.

Bella's mouth opened in surprise as she wondered how Rosalie knew about her infatuation with Edward. _Is it that obvious_? She thought as her face started to burn in embarrassment, ruining the lie that hovered on her lips.

"We know that you like him," Alice said in a calm tone. "He likes you too and it is very obvious that things haven't been working out between him and Jessica lately."

She mentally counted to thirty seconds as she waited for the blush in her cheeks to fade a little before she would give them an answer.

"I don't know what you mean. It looks like Edward," Her voice went up in a few octaves. "And Jessica are doing fine. I don't like him as anything more than a friend." She desperately hoped the waver in her voice wasn't too noticeable.

"Whatever you say, but I really think you should make the first move." Alice replied as a slightly sympathetic smile formed on the edge of her lips.

By the time they arrived at La Push, Bella already felt like turning right back around to her house. Of course she wanted to get to know Edward, and of course she knew about his rocky love life, but she didn't want to make any moves while he was still dating Jessica. Dream-Jessica hadn't been very nice to her "months" after dream-Edward had left, and it wouldn't do Bella any good to make enemies with Jessica. _If Edward likes me so much, why couldn't he break up with Jessica first_? She pressed her lips together as she stomped through the hot sands of the First Beach.

Bella and the others gathered at the same bone-bleached benches from before and chatted about various things. She was talking to Angela about a homework assignment when she felt a heavy tap to her shoulder. She could feel her heartbeat accelerate in response and she whipped around to meet Jacob's gaze. Her eyes widened in alarm and she could feel her mouth go dry as her worst fears were confirmed right in front of her. This wasn't the first carefree, happy Jacob she had met in her dreams. His burning touch and dark brooding eyes could only signify one thing – the werewolves and vampires from her dreams _did_ exist! A nauseous feeling made her lightheaded as she tried to organize her jumbled thoughts.

_Oh no_, she thought as her mind raced through panic-riddled thoughts. _How could it be true_? But the undeniable proof was right in front of her disbelieving eyes. Her Jacob – _just Jacob_, her mind stubbornly reminded her – and the rest of the Quileute teenagers were no longer human, but a pack of _werewolves_!

"Hi, my name is Bella Swan," she managed to say clearly as she offered Jacob a handshake.

"Jacob Black," Jacob greeted and roughly returned her handshake.

It was now or never – she had to either find alone time with Jacob and tell him what she knew about werewolves, or cut off their brief chat and never speak to him again.

"I've met your sisters before," Bella's hands started to shake a little and she had to curl them behind her back. "How are Rachel and Rebecca doing?"

"Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer – she lives in Hawaii now." Jacob replied gruffly.

"That's pretty cool," She gave a nervous sigh and batted her eyelids. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

"Sure." Jacob looked a little surprised and jumped from the bench.

The soft, salty breeze that whipped through Bella's hair somehow managed to soothe her frazzled nerves. She imagined the previous times she had been here with dream-Jacob, and how much laughter they had shared together. The distant caws of seagulls and the never-ending waves against the shore were all too familiar to her. Once they had reached the edge of the forest, Bella stopped to a halt in front of Jacob.

"Now, I know that you don't know me very well…" She hesitated, searching for the right words to say. "But I've had dreams of you and the rest of the Quileute tribe, and I know that you're all werewolves." She regretted the words instantly as Jacob's enormous fists started to quiver.

"What? Nobody is supposed to know about us…crap, I need to get Sam," He spoke mostly to himself with an iron-clad determination on his face. He raced past Bella – even in his human form he was fast – and returned with Sam, and Seth by his side.

"Bella, if you really know about our werewolf customs," Sam began with a troubled frown. "You would know that nobody besides the werewolves and their mates are supposed to know about our conditions. Did you have a reason in the first place to be telling us this?"

"Y-yes, I watched the news last night and a pack of wolves escaped from Canada," A light sheen of sweat covered Bella's forehead. "Who are they? Are they a part of your pack?"

Shock and alarm twisted all of their facial features and for a few minutes, a silence filled the air until Seth spoke up.

"Err, no, they're not a part of our pack. They're the strongest werewolf pack we know of, and they call themselves Sustantivo prevalence (Power prevails). We've heard rumors that they would be traveling here to help us ward of –" A loud rustle from the bushes behind caught their attention.

Two tall and dark, muscular figures stood before them with a brooding expression that matched the small crowd behind them. Bella could immediately tell that the male and female were both twins – they shared the same wavy dark hair and chestnut-colored eyes. The male cautiously took a few steps towards Sam.

"Hello, we didn't mean to frighten you. We are the Sustantivo prevalence, my name is Chimo and my sister here is Chita," His introduction was masked by a strong Spanish accent. "This is my pack behind me, in the bushes. Benjamin, Valerio," He pointed to the two males. "Adora and Spring." He pointed to the females in the far corner of the forest.

"Welcome to the La Push reservation," Sam gave a slight bow. "My name is Sam, and this is Jacob, Seth, and Bella." Bella swore she saw Sam's head slightly tilt towards her and in response, Jacob and Seth quickly moved in front of her, hiding her from plain view.

"We do not mean to intrude, but we are currently in a difficult situation. There is a vampire coven that we've been fighting for centuries and now, they've decided to stay here. May I have permission to set up camp here with my pack until we have hunted them down?" Chimo pretended to ignore Bella, but she knew that her human scent had already given her away.

"Your pack can stay in the deep bowels of our forests. We can't afford to have the local residents be suspicious of your activities," Sam replied in a cool, calm voice. "If you don't mind, we would like a little more information about this vampire coven. If we are to fight them, we need to know as much as we can."

"Their numbers have dwindled down to two vampires – the leader and his mate. Back in time, they had started a newborn army and fed upon our cities in South America. The so-called _Volturi_ – " Chimo gave a sneer of disgust. "Had arrived too late and our cousins and their human kin were slaughtered by then. We decided to take charge and hunt these demons down to their graves. Unfortunately, we had become busy with other matters, and we have recently followed their scents from Canada to this little town."

"Thank you. You can stay here for now, and if you need any assistance, we have a number of battle strategies already planned out." Sam's calm expression hadn't wavered at all during Chimo's speech.

Chimo gave a nod of gratitude and after repeating this information to his pack in Spanish – atleast, it sounded like Spanish – a multiple chain of booms filled the air and they disappeared in their wolf forms.

"Well," Sam gave a huge sigh, turning his gaze to Bella's. "It looks like you know too much already, so I will have to report you to the council and wait for their final decision of what to do with you."

"I promise I won't be telling anyone else about this," Bella's solemn expression peered between Seth and Jacob's arms.

"You and your friends will have to leave now." Jacob escorted Bella back to the bleached benches. He tried to avoid Bella's curious gaze, but shyly took a few peeks of her face. As if on cue, thunder rumbled from the distance and the angry clouds from above threatened to burst.

"I'll see you later, then?" Bella murmured, feeling disappointed with herself for not attempting to start any real conversations with Jacob.

"Of course. Maybe my father, Billy, and I will stop by at your house sometime," Jacob promised with a light grin. "Bye."

Jessica grabbed her arm and steered her towards the cars before Bella could call a good-bye to Jacob.

"Where were you, Bella? You missed out on the bonfire we started earlier." Jessica asked impatiently.

"Oh, a few locals were showing me around First Beach." Bella replied indifferently.

Bella's ride back home had been a silent one as she quietly mulled over her discovery of the two packs of werewolves. She could still hardly believe that mythical creatures did exist, much less that she was stuck in a dangerous, magic-filled situation. She finally understood the dream-Cullens' warnings from before, but she didn't know what to do about it. She felt a few tears slide down her cheek as she fearfully thought about the strange, new pack that had arrived during her visit to the La Push reservation.


	7. Falling Away with You

_I can't remember when it was good_

_Moments of happiness elude_

_Maybe I just misunderstood_

_All of the love we left behind_

_Watching the flashbacks intertwine_

_Memories I will never find_

_So I'll love whatever you become_

_And forget the reckless things we've done_

_I think our lives have just begun_

_I think out lives have just begun_

_And I'll feel my world crumbling_

_I'll feel my life crumbling_

_I'll feel my soul crumbling away_

_And falling away_

_Falling away with you_

_-Falling Away with you by Muse_

Bella squirmed fearfully in her sleep, and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead as a series of nightmares took a hold of her subconscious with an unrelenting grasp. Small groans of fear escaped her throat as she saw visions of the Quileute tribe violently ripped apart by an unknown coven of merciless vampires.

As Bella gripped Jacob's bloody sleeve, a sob choked up her throat and sent a wave of uncontrollable tremors through her exhausted body. The black clad coven of vampires merely stood by, staring at her with cold, unfeeling expressions. She instinctively knew it was then her turn to die and at that very moment, she would accept Death's embrace with sickening joy. _Words now can't even begin to express how sorry I am. _The lazy, yet heart-warming grins of Jacob, Sam, Quil, and the other flashed through her mind. _Good-bye, I wish I deserved to have such kind friends as you…_

A stone-cold touch and a velvety voice alerted her to a figure crouching right behind her.

"Edward," Bella gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Edward took notice of her quizzical stare and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. The last wisps of her previous nightmare quickly dissipated as an overwhelming sense of comfort took its place.

"Shh, it was just a nightmare," He cooed in her ear. Bella turned around to meet his slightly sympathetic, yet loving gaze with confusion.

His cold lips met hers in a soft motion that almost immediately steadied Bella's irregular pulse back into a calm, rhythmic thump. Shortly afterwards, their kiss became rougher and a pleasing electrical shock ran through her scalp, which traveled throughout her entire body as Edward ran his fingers through her hair. After a few minutes, Bella gently jerked her head back and broke free from their kiss, feeling a little dizzy.

She contentedly laid her head on top of Edward's perfectly sculpted chest and let out a long sigh. All around her, the previously bloody environment had faded and formed into her and Edward's private meadow. The quick transition from drastically different emotions in which she went through, including the kiss, left her lightheaded. Edward rubbed small, soothing circles on the small of her back as she attempted to regain control of her breathing.

"Why can't it be like this always?" Bella asked, troubled.

"What do you mean, love?" Edward questioned with a concerned frown.

"You're just a figment of my imagination, and this is a dream! Our memories together don't even exist, yet I love you the way I do. Does our love really exist, or is this just a desperate fantasy?" Bella felt the hot stream of tears flow down her face and onto Edward's marble arms. She squirmed out of his arms and turned around to meet his serious gaze.

After thinking deeply and considering his choice of words, Edward's mouth opened when a ringing noise drowned his voice out.

"No!" Bella screamed, desperately hanging on to the last threads of her dream as it faded into black nothingness.

Bella gave a gasp of shock as her eyelids flew wide open to meet her dimly lit room. She tugged at the cord of her alarm out of the outlet, and rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Warm, salty tears met her fingers and she quickly wiped them away with her sleeve.

A feeling of emptiness filled her heart as the last few seconds of her dream replayed inside her head. She felt as if she were closer to the truth than ever before, and couldn't understand why Edward had to hesitate the way he did. She nearly considered skipping school for the day, but quickly decided against it. After straightening out her tangled sheets, she followed her daily ritual of preparing for another day of school.

Even as her Chevy slowly chugged away towards Forks High, cloudy fragments of her dream still lingered on the fringe of her thoughts.

Up until Biology, nothing of great interest pried Bella out of the depths of her dark depression. As her eyes began to glaze over in boredom, Mr. Banner cleared his throat loudly, startling her.

"Are you paying attention to my instructions, Ms. Swan?" Mr. Banner shot her a stern glare.

"Yes.""As I was saying," Mr. Banner huffed angrily. "The following experiment is quite simple. You will be reviewing the characteristics of water by conducting a series of tasks and recording your observations. I will hand out a sheet with instructions on it. After you have chosen a partner, you may begin."

As a low chatter broke out and a unison of chairs scraping rang throughout the room, Bella heard Edward slowly clear his throat.

"Would you like to be my partner?" He asked with a kind smile.

"Sure," She replied, feeling her pulse quicken at the sound of his voice. They found an unoccupied lab station and carefully studied the instructions printed before them. After searching for the necessary items - vegetable oil, ice, a cork, and other various things - they immediately went to work.

At first, the two worked on separate stages of the experiment in silence. It wasn't the awkward kind of silence that one in Bella's place would expect to feel, which comforted her. A slight frown appeared on the edges of her lips as the minutes passed by. Even though Edward continued to stay silent, she suddenly felt as if he were _missing _something crucial from his being. Her frown deepened as she pondered on this puzzling discovery.

Physically, there was nothing wrong with Edward. He was already quite handsome before he was a vampire in her dreams. His speech hadn't changed at all, and he still kept true to his chivalrous attitude…yet why did Bella feel like she could've easily been working with someone else, like Angela or Mike? A small gasp escaped her throat as Edward's hand reached towards a Graduated Cylinder and slightly brushed her arm.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked, a little puzzled.

Embarrassed, Bella averted her gaze from Edward to the beaker filled with water before her. She had foolishly expected Edward's touch to be freezing and electric, nearly forgetting that he was human. She couldn't exactly explain to herself exactly _why_ this bothered her, so she brushed the thought off and turned her attention back to the experiment.

"How do you like Forks so far?" Edward asked in a casual tone, keeping his gaze on the Graduated Cylinder in front of him.

"It's okay so far," Bella answered nervously, struggling to remember the details of her life before her dream with the Cullens. She was surprised to find how hard it was to sift through her memories back to when she first moved to Forks. "The people around here are pretty friendly. By the way, I was at that party you threw at the beginning of the year. Do you play the piano often?""Yes," Edward with a sheepish smile. "I learned from my step-father, Carlisle, when I was younger. I'm actually planning to major in Music after I graduate from here. If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do after high school?"

"I-I'm not sure, actually," Bella uncharacteristically stuttered. "I plan on going to college, but I'm not sure where yet."

Noticing her sudden discomfort, he quickly changed the subject. "What is your favorite color?"

His eyebrows slightly furrowed as this simple question caught Bella completely off guard. It reminded her strongly of the part in her dream when he had asked her a series of never-ending questions regarding to little trivial things. She stifled a small giggle as she thought about how eager he had been to question her, and the way his topaz eyes lit up as she answered each of his questions.

"Brown."

"I think I could guess why. You moved here from Arizona, right?"

"Yes…"

"So brown is a warm color, and it probably reminds you of Arizona. I paint a little when I'm not playing the piano."

"Really?" Bella asked, trying to mask the surprise from seeping into her politely interested tone. It puzzled her how more artistic this Edward was from the one in her dreams. _Stop referring him as "this Edward." He's the only Edward Cullen that exists._ Suddenly becoming irritated at herself, she returned her focus to her paper and wrote down her latest observations.

Unfortunately, their conversation ceased to continue for the rest of the period as they hurried to finish the rest of the experiment. They barely managed to complete it on time, and Bella found herself running towards Gym without waiting for Mike to catch up. During the entire duration of Gym class, she managed to mull over her and Edward's earlier conversation without receiving more injuries than usual.

"Bella, watch out!" Mike yelled, five feet behind her.

By some unexplainable miracle, she ducked in time to watch the volleyball whiz over her head and hit another classmate in the face. The entire game had stopped momentarily as everyone around - including Coach Clapp - stared at Bella with their mouths hung open. Never before had Bella _ever_ avoided _anything_ during Gym; their reactions would've been the same if an eye were growing in the middle of her forehead.

"Wow, that was actually kind of amazing that you avoided that volleyball in time, huh?" Mike teased at the end of class.

"I'm just as stunned as you are," Bella replied truthfully.

By the time she changed into her regular clothes and entered the parking lot, half of the school had already left. She quickly noticed Edward and she was about to wave, when she also noticed a very disgruntled Jessica arguing with him. A line of cars honked at a particularly slow Honda - which made it very difficult to hear what the two were arguing about- but Bella realized the matter of the situation once a few people nearby stopped to whisper among each other and stare at her.

A faint blush blossomed in her face, and she quickly made her way towards the Chevy in order to avoid attracting too much attention. As her Chevy creakily exited the school's parking lot, she noticed Alice and Rosalie from the distance staring at her with equally satisfied smirks. Once Bella reached her house and parked in the driveway, she cut the engine off and stared at the steering wheel before her. She then noticed that her grip on the wheel was so tight that her knuckles went white.

Still gripping the wheel, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. A fist loudly rapped against the window, so she opened her eyes to meet the puzzled frown of Jacob Black. Resisting the temptation of igniting the engine and driving away, she instead cranked the window down to greet him.

"Hey Jacob, what do you want?" Bella asked wearily, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a frown. She already had an idea of what he wanted, and she was _not _in the mood for dealing with anyone at the moment.

"This is kind of earlier than expected…" Jacob said hesitantly. "But you need to talk with the Council as soon as possible. I was sent here to pick you up."

"All right, all right," Bella groaned. "Let me leave Charlie a note firs-"

"I already talked to your father, Bella," Billy appeared in his wheel chair next to Jacob. "You have his permission to spend the rest of the afternoon down in La Push. If we hurry now, we may be able to finish before night time falls."

"The more we know about the situation," Jacob averted his gaze from Bella's face. "The better it is for everyone."

Bella gulped uneasily at the way he over-emphasized the word 'everyone', yet continued to get her belongings in order. After placing the keys to her Chevy in her pocket, she grabbed an extra jacket and got out of the car, being careful to lock the door behind her. She followed Jacob and Billy towards their van, and sat in the front next to Jacob once he wheeled Billy in. Once they were on the road, she tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence that enveloped the van, and tried to imagine what the Council had planned out for her.

What would happen if they were dissatisfied with the ridiculous-sounding answers she provided? Would they banish her from the reservation, or worse, somehow find a way to force her to move back with her mother? She still had many questions that were left unanswered, and was not planning to travel anywhere until she received a few answers of her own.


	8. The Ghost of Another Past

By the time they reached the reservation, the sun was hanging low in the sky. Bella's eyes widened in alarm as a large group of shadows gathered around the van once they were parked in Jacob's driveway. Even as the shadows crept closer and closer, Jacob and Billy continued to stay silent. Their relatively slight frowns seemed to deepen and light creases appeared on their foreheads.

"They've requested us to meet on the beach." Billy informed gravely.

As Jacob exited the van and helped wheel Billy out, Bella warily observed the shadows as she too stepped out of the van. Her face paled as she studied the shadows and discovered that she recognized the grim faces surrounding her. The faces of Ember, Quil, Kim, Emily, and Bella's once beloved friends glowed in a variety of anger, fear, and curiosity.

Bella shyly hung her head low and fixated her gaze upon her feet as she followed Jacob. A minute later, they reached a brilliantly lit campfire with bone-bleached benches. As Jacob and Billy sat down next to each other, the curious gazes of the Council quietly studied her still figure.

"Sit." Billy commanded in a slightly impatient tone.

After taking a seat, she anxiously continued to stare at her slightly worn out sneakers. The rest of the council now averted their gazes from Bella to Old Quil Ateara.

"I imagine that you already know why you are here Isabella. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir." Intimidated, she thought it best to take on a polite and formal speech around the Council.

"First of all, do you have an explanation of why you seem to be familiar with our ancient legends? If you are as familiar with our past as Jacob and Sam informed us, you would know that our secrets mustn't be shared with anyone outside of the tribe, except for life long partners, correct?"

_What should I tell him? _Bella's heart began to pound loudly in her chest. _Would they believe that I know all about their past based on a _dream? As the seconds uncomfortably passed by, she decided that it would be best if she stuck to the truth. Who knows what would happen if she _did_ tell them a lie? No, even if she wanted to lie to them, she didn't have the heart to go through it.

"Shortly after I moved to Forks, I had this dream - " And so for the next thirty minutes or so, she explained to the Council every dream she had concerning the Cullens and their tribe. She couldn't manage to relax even for a single moment under the emotionless stares of the Council through out her lengthy explanation.

Bella's breath caught in her throat as she waited for someone - _anyone_ - to break the silence. Besides the steady breathing of the Council and the crackling from the roaring fire, a deathly sort of silence enveloped the black night.

The ancient faces before her continued to remain emotionless as they contemplated her words. To her surprise, even Jacob continued to stare blankly into the crackling flames. She began to nervously twiddle her thumbs as she silently prayed for them to believe her.

"I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I refuse to believe in Bella's story," Sam shook his head in disbelief. "How can a mere human know of our past and supposed future through lucid dreams?"

"Be patient Sam, we must consider all possibilities before any of us can make assumptions," Billy intervened with a stern glare. "We cannot be sure of everything around us. I personally think that Bella may have psychic abilities."

"Perhaps, but I have my own theory that could fully explain her story. I must ponder on it longer though before I express it to you," Quil Ateara Sr. said slowly. "Bella, you mentioned that the Cullens exist in both reality and your dreams. They are currently human, correct?"

"Yes…" Bella replied hesitantly, not sure where he was going with this.

"Good, good," He mumbled to himself while rubbing his hands together. "You may leave now. We will discuss among ourselves what will be done and let you know our final decision as soon as possible."

"I'll drive you back to your house," Jacob muttered, walking quickly towards the end of the beach.

Still perplexed, Bella silently followed him to his driveway. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or worried about Quil Ateara Sr.'s reaction. He _did _ignore Sam and consider her words, but on the other hand, she would still have to go back to meet with the Council all over again. Who knows how long it would take for them to come to a final agreement?

Completely consumed with her thoughts, she accidentally ran into Jacob's back.

"Oh, I'm sor - " Her apology was cut short by a fierce growl.

"Those stupid dogs are nearby _again!_ I'll have to report this to Sam," Jacob exclaimed, his teeth gnashing together. "Bella, could you wait here for a moment?"

"Okay." She replied, but Jacob had already disappeared. A wave of shivers ran down her spine, but it wasn't from the cold. Her legs froze in place as a long series of hot breaths ran down her neck.

"W-who is there?" She stuttered, her hands growing cold.

"You're clearly not a werewolf. You reek of _human_," An unidentifiable female voice sneered. "Are you one of the tribe's mates, or are you simply at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Neither," Bella whispered as her heart pounded frantically in her chest.

"Well then," The voice growled. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I borrowed you for a while, would they?" The voice laughed shrilly. "I promise to deliver all 206 of your bones back to them."

A vicious snarl came from behind, and Bella fearfully covered her head with her arms. Shutting her eyes, she heard a mixture of growls and yelps. After a minute or two, the snarls ceased, and heavy hand took a hold of her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Sam asked in an alarmed tone. Over his shoulder, she saw Jacob (in human form) stomp angrily towards his house.

"Yeah, thank you," Bella said in a small voice. "Who was that?""I think it would be better if I drove you back to your house." Sam replied, ignoring her question. He left her there and after a few minutes, he returned in a tan Toyota.

The drive back to her house was a fairly short one. They had mostly ignored each other, except for when they quietly bid their farewells.

"Thanks for the ride." Bella said gratefully. She fished through her jacket for her house key. A loud creaking noise alerted her to Charlie, whom was standing on the door mat with a cautious expression.

"Did you have fun over at the La Push reservation, Bella?" Charlie asked with his arms folded.

"Yeah, it was pretty neat," Bella said as she walked past him and entered the kitchen. "There was a campfire going on, and I chatted with Jacob Black for a while."

"I'm glad that you're fitting in around here so quickly," Charlie remarked as he flopped onto the couch. "How are things going on at your school?"

"Things aren't too bad," Bella replied, heating up a plate of pasta in the microwave. "The classes and the people are…interesting."

Yawning widely, Bella made herself a cup of apple juice and slowly ate her meal. She had a lot on her mind, and she was strangely looking forward to her latest dream. She craved for Edward's electric touch and his velvety voice whispering sweet-nothings in her ear. As soon as she was finished eating, she prepared to go to bed.

"Good night!" Charlie exclaimed from downstairs.

"'Night!" Bella yelled impatiently, accidentally slamming the door behind her.

A storm had broke out earlier, so she had a hard time falling asleep. After retrieving another blanket onto her bed, she fell into a comfortable sleep.

A loud ringing echoed in her ears, growing more and more annoying by each passing second. Groaning, she shifted to her left and continued to ignore her alarm clock. A few minutes later, she winced as rays of sunlight burned into her eyes.

"Bella, you have school today. Get ready before you're late," Charlie said, exasperated. "Maybe you should only visit friends on the weekend."

"I'm getting up," Bella groaned, slowly slipping out of her bed covers. Still exhausted, she reluctantly took a shower and managed to get ready before school started.

As she rode to school, it finally hit her _why _she felt extremely odd. She couldn't remember her dreams from last night, which automatically meant that neither Edward or any of the Cullens had visited her.

All day, she ignored her teachers' daily lectures and instead obsessively pondered on the possible reasons of why dream-Edward hadn't visited her last night. Even during Lunch, while surrounded by the Cullens and her other friends, she subconsciously ignored their chattering. In Bella's mind, she was surrounded by her colorful meadow in the freezing arms of Edward.

"_I love being with you more than I do being trapped in a world where _you _don't exist." Bella expressed with a happy sigh._

"_I don't understand what you mean Bella," Edward replied with pursed lips._

"_I mean, I like the other Edward fine, but it's just not the same."_

_Troubled by this, Edward gently pried Bella out of his arms._

"_You couldn't possibly mean it, could you?" Edward asked in a low voice. "Listen to these words and take them to heart. Do not dwell on these dreams so often. I won't be around for much longer, and I couldn't bear seeing you this unhappy…"_

"_I don't understand what _you're_ trying to say," Bella replied quietly, feeling utterly confused. "I'm not unhappy."_

_Edward merely stared deep into Bella's tear-filled eyes with a sad smile._

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed sharply, yanking Bella out of her bittersweet daydream. "You've been pretty out of it lately. The cafeteria is nearly empty."

"Sorry," Bella mumbled an apology while collecting her backpack together. "I haven't been sleeping well lately because of the rain."

"Don't apologize to me. Edward had been trying to catch your attention all through out Lunch." Alice remarked, exiting the cafeteria.

For the rest of the school day, Bella tried her best to concentrate on her studies and friends. Even as she did this, Edward's sorrowful smile flashed brightly in her mind every time she closed her eyes.

"_I'm not as unhappy as Edward believes I am," _Bella thought. _"Right?"_


	9. Happily Ever After?

"It _must _be those stinking Canadian wolves that are howling every night," Charlie growled, brewing a pot of coffee. "It's only a matter of time before people start to disappear."

"Hopefully they'll be captured soon," Bella said in a choked whisper, fighting back tears. _It has to be those werewolves I met that day when I first "met" Jacob. _Her air supply quickly became restricted, and her heart was strangled by the iron fist of sheer terror. _The werewolf that attacked me a few days ago knows where I live! Oh my god, they know where I live! _She gripped the edges of the counter top, now wheezing for air. _Charlie's in danger too!_

"Bella!" Charlie cried, gripping Bella by her heaving shoulders. "What's wrong?"

Still panicking, Bella shook her head wildly as her face turned a deadly shade of blue. Charlie hurriedly led her to a nearby couch, giving her a cup of water once she calmed down.

She concentrated on the slow _whoosh_ing of her lungs inflating and deflating, trying to force the wolves from her mind. _Panicking like this is the last thing I should be doing. It won't solve anything._ After taking a large gulp of water, she gladly noted that the room had stopped spinning.

"Do you feel better now?" Charlie asked, anxiously eyeing the phone on the wall.

"I'm all right Dad," Bella replied, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "I-I'm just…"

"Here," Charlie handed her the glass of water.

She took another sip before continuing.

"I want you to be careful with those wolves loose," Her voice cracked. "I don't want you to get hurt. T-they sound like they're nearby, and I'm scared, Dad. I'm really s-scared."

A stream of tears rolled down Bella's face, and she wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck. Staying silent, he merely rubbed her back until her sobs subsided into hiccups.

"Bella, I want you to listen to me," Charlie gently laid his hands upon her shoulders. "I have to report this before anyone can get hurt. Nothing will happen to me."

Bella nodded, wiping the last stray tears from her red eyes.

"I understand."

"Anyways, I'm pretty sure that they'll be caught without the use of the police. Still though, I should notify a professional as a precaution," He went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. "Do you think you're well enough to go to school?"

"Yes. Thank you," Bella sighed wearily, getting up and shuffling towards the kitchen.

"Have a good day at school, Bells," Charlie hesitated before leaving. "Call me if you need anything at any time."

"Okay, I will."

The cold, long drawn out howls of the wolves had been disturbing the Swan household for the past few nights. At first Charlie had thought little of it until today, but this was certainly not the case with Bella. Even from the very first night she heard the ghastly chorus of howls, she knew who it was.

The earlier warnings she had received from her dreams echoed in her head as her Chevy chugged down the road. She now had a very good reason to leave Forks, but _how_? Charlie had promised her that it would be taken care of, but she knew it wasn't so.

A thick stream of plans raced through her mind, and she carefully considered each one. _How can I convince Charlie to leave though? _Her hands gripped the steering wheel in overwhelming frustration. _There _has _to be a way to end this._

Once first period began, Bella felt comfortable under the thick veil of normalcy. It felt strangely good for her to fall into a predictable pattern.

That is, until Edward asked to speak to Bella in private during their Lunch period.

"O-okay," Bella agreed, accidentally tripping over her chair as she followed Edward. _What on Earth is happening?_ Earlier in the day, Jessica had given her the cold shoulder and completely ignored her. Even now, Bella could feel the heat of Jessica's glare burning two holes in the back of her head.

"Um…" Edward hesitated, his face glowing bright red. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "Would you like to have dinner with me on Saturday?"

"I'd love to," Bella gasped softly, surprised at how quickly the words flew out of her mouth.

"Would Saturday night at 8 o'clock in Port Angeles work out for you?"

"A-absolutely,"

The nasal bell rang once more, alerting them of their next class, Biology.

_Did Edward break up with Jessica and just ask me out? _She wasn't exactly sure how she felt, except that it felt like she walked off the set of a soap opera.

"I'll see you in class then," Edward said with a relieved smile.

Bella nodded, still stunned. In the midst of her current crisis, happiness was one of the last emotions she expected to feel. The feeling blossomed in her chest, sending waves of warmth through her limbs. A small smile formed on her face as she slowly made her way to Biology.

For the first time in what seemed like centuries, Bella felt that she could engage into conversations with her friends with genuine enthusiasm. There were long periods of time where she could even forget about the werewolves.

"Did Edward ask you out?" Alice asked on Friday during Lunch while Edward went to buy his meal.

"Yes. Why?" Bella asked shyly.

"Both you and Edward seem happier."

"Really?" She mumbled, feeling heat creep up her neck. _I didn't know that Edward really did like me _that_ much. _It humbled her in a way to know that she had such an influence over Edward's life.

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow,"

"Do you have anything to wear?"

"No," Bella admitted, her blush turning a shade deeper. "I don't own very many dresses."

"Well, in that case, I'm inviting you to my house so you can pick something from my closet to wear," Alice said with a wide grin. "I just went on a huge shopping spree last weekend, and I wouldn't mind giving out a dress or two for a friend in need."

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Bella replied. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Really, it isn't a problem," Alice insisted. "Drive by my house after school. Any time before 10:30 would be good. You do remember how to get to my house, right?"

"Of course,"

Bella gave a sigh. This was clearly a battle she would not be able to win.

As Bella had promised, she immediately drove to the Cullens' mansion after school ended. Bella's eyes widened in shock as Alice came bouncing out of the front door towards her with a dozen or so dresses on the crook of her elbow.

"Do I really have to make _that _much of an effort to look nice for Edward tomorrow?" Bella joked, still a little shocked.

"Yes, it really _is _that important to look as nice as you can for your date tomorrow," Alice with an exasperated sigh. "That boy is already head over heels for you, but I want you to leave a lasting impression on him. He's been a bit, well…lonely for a while now, and I don't want him to think you aren't serious about him."

"Okay, if you say so," Bella said, wrinkling her nose. "I may need a bit of help though. This is kind of my first date."

"In that case, follow me!"

Bella jogged behind Alice's quick-paced steps, struggling to keep up with her. Just as they reached the stairs, a thought struck Bella, stopping her in her tracks.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to call Charlie about staying here after school," Bella said with a groan. "Can I borrow your home phone?"

"Sure. It's in the kitchen, right near the stove."

Bella ran down the spiral stair case, and into the kitchen, nearly running into Edward in the process.

"Hello Bella," Edward greeted with wide eyes, carrying an iron and a pair of khaki pants.

"Hi Edward," Bella greeted back, grabbing the phone. "I-if you're wondering what I'm doing here, Alice invited me."

"All right," Edward replied with a bemused, crooked grin.

The call was quite brief. Although Charlie sounded downright _exhausted, _he seemed happy to know that Bella was seeing friends.

"Bella! Come up here!" Alice's voice echoed throughout the mansion. "I found some you would look gorgeous in!"

"That's Alice for you," Edward said with a quiet chuckle as he ironed the pants. "Always the loudest one in the house."

Bella gave him one last smile before leaving the kitchen and quickly entering Alice's room.

"Do you have to be so loud, Alice?" Bella asked, closing the door behind her.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't going to chicken out on me," Alice rolled her eyes while grabbing a couple of more dresses from her closet. "Here's what you can choose from."

Bella stared at the two dozen dresses of all colors and patterns before her with an open jaw. This was going to be a _long_ night.

After two hours filled with countless squabbles and complains, Bella finally chose what she thought was the best outfit to wear for her date tomorrow. Although it was a little flamboyant for her taste, she knew it would take another two hours to talk Alice out of it.

It was a strapless blue dress, ending only an inch or two below her knees. Too tired after spending an hour and a half on finding a dress, Bella allowed Alice to pick out her shoes and show her how to do her make-up.

"Thank you, Alice." Bella said with a huge yawn, placing her outfit in a shopping bag. "I really do appreciate you doing this for me."

"You better," Alice grumbled, half-serious and half-joking. "I didn't imagine you'd be so _difficult._"


	10. The Date

Right as Bella was about to place a plate of leftover nachos into the microwave, the front door slammed wide open.

"What a nightmare," Charlie grumbled as he set his gun aside and plopped down on his armchair. He sat crouched over, pinching the bridge of his nose with a loud sigh.

Not wanting to disturb him, Bella silently prepared Charlie's dinner and handed him his plate. She bit her lip as she studied the clock on the wall. It was 7:05 pm, and she wanted to get dressed and leave for Port Angeles as soon as possible.

"Four hikers went missing today," Charlie announced tonelessly. "One of the Canadian wolves was found dead and mutilated in the woods."

Bella stopped dead in her tracks once she heard this. _Who…?_ She felt her blood run cold as she tried to envision Jacob, the once kind-hearted and gentle Jacob, ruthlessly attack one of the Spanish werewolves.

Bella, completely absorbed in the thick silence, nearly jumped in the air at the sound of the doorbell. She quickly regained her senses, walked across the hall, and opened the front door.

Her heart sped up at the sight of Edward, looking quite handsome in his dark green sweater and his khakis.

"Hello Bella," Edward greeted with a polite smile.

"Hi Edward," Bella's face turned beet red. "I didn't know you'd be stopping by."

"Cha-_Dad_," She quickly corrected herself. "This is Edward Cullen."

Charlie's sullen frown turned into a strained grimace, yet he stood from his chair and shook Edward's hand.

"Where will you be taking my daughter tonight?" Charlie questioned, still wearing the same grimace. "I trust she'll be back before long."

"Of course Mr. Swan," Edward replied amiably. "We're just going to Port Angeles for dinner."

"Good, good."

"I'll be right back," Bella excused herself from the conversation to go to her room.

Miraculously, Bella got dressed and applied make-up in under five minutes. She studied herself in her full-length mirror, surprisingly liking what she saw. Her heart-shaped face had a healthy glow and her blue dress hugged the contours of her body perfectly. After grabbing her scruffy wallet and stuffing it into an unused purse, she carefully stepped downstairs.

Bella's favorite crooked smile appeared on Edward's face, and he opened the front door for her.

"Bye Dad," Bella said, feeling strangely giddy.

The ride to Port Angeles was one full of chatter and laughter. However, although Edward was kind and charming, there was something off about him. Maybe it was his fairly modern dialect, or maybe it was the faint cologne he was wearing.

_What are you complaining about? You're with _Edward, a small voice nagged.

_Yeah, but this isn't _my _Edward,_ she argued back.

Bella instantly felt guilty for even _having _this internal argument in her mind in the first place.

_Get your head out of the clouds and face reality!_

"Do you want to eat here?" Edward asked, pointing at La Bella Italia as he parked into a half-full parking lot.

"Sure."

A wave of nostalgia ran through Bella's limbs as she followed Edward into the crowded restaurant. Her eyes widened in surprise; Bella swore that their host was the same blonde that was in her dream. She blinked again and instead saw a girl around her age with long, red hair. The red-haired girl led them to the exact ring of booths dream-Edward and Bella had gone to.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked with a concerned frown. "You look exhausted."

"I'm all right," Bella reassured. "I'm just a little stressed out about that Biology test we have tomorrow. Isn't is worth around 100 points?"

"Yes, I think so…" Edward replied, wrinkling his nose.

After a few minutes, a brunette by the name of Madison came by to collect their orders.

"I'll have mushroom ravioli and a glass of Coke." Bella replied with a slight smile.

"I'll have spaghetti with red sauce and a glass of water." Edward ordered.

They then discussed about their aspirations for the future as they ate.

"What would you like to do after high school?" Edward asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Bella admitted, her face turning pink. "I think I'll go to college and major in English."

"Cool," He said with a smile. "I am considering going to medical school and becoming a doctor, like my father."

Bella and Edward continued to chat and eat until they finally noticed the last few customers leaving.

After paying the bill and leaving a tip, Edward led Bella to his car, and opened the door for her.

"I had a really great time," Bella said with a small smile.

"Me too,"

Before Bella could even put her seat belt on, Edward leaned into her face to softly press his lips against hers. A little surprised, Bella shyly returned the kiss back. The faint, yet spicy cologne Edward was wearing flooded through her nostrils. A slight moan escaped his lips, and his kisses quickly became rougher. Not exactly liking where this was going, Bella was just about to pull away when her cell phone began to vibrate.

"I have to take this call." Bella announced, keeping the relief out of her voice.

_Edward would have never kiss me like that!_ A small voice shouted indignantly.

"Hello?"

"Bella, you need to come down to the La Push reservation immediately," A male voice demanded. "Your father has been hurt."

"What?" Bella replied with wide eyes. "Who is this?"

"Harry Clearwater," He replied impatiently. "Now get off of the phone and go!"

Tears already began to cloud her vision before she snapped her phone shut.

"Who was it?" Edward asked. "What happened?"

"M-my dad is hurt," Bella sobbed. "A friend of his t-told me to drive to La Push a-as soon as p-possible."

"I'll drive you down there." He promised, turning the ignition and swiftly exiting the parking lot.

_Please keep him safe!_ Bella silently prayed in her mind, squeezing her purse.

The next twenty minutes were the longest twenty minutes Bella had ever experienced in her life. As she helplessly studied the view from her window, she swore that the nearby herd of deer was moving faster than the car was. The deer soon became blotted out of her vision as a fresh wave of tears welled up in her eyes. She was about to snap at Edward to drive faster, when she noticed a line of unmoving cars on the horizon.

"Oh no," She groaned. "No, we'll never get there!"

Edward, feeling nearly as helpless as Bella, wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to cry on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the window. Edward quickly rolled the window down once he saw who it was.

"Excuse me," A police officer said. "Is there an Isabella Swan in here?"

"That's me," Bella replied wearily, removing herself from Edward's embrace.

"Your father hadn't been transported to a hospital yet, but a doctor is tending to him. Follow me."

"Go," Edward said with a somber gaze. "I'll see you later."

Bella gave him a weak smile and left the car, following the police officer. Her heart sunk as she noticed police cars with their flashing lights surrounding the area. Although her instincts shrieked at her to run far, far away, she forced her limbs to move forward.

"Here he is." The police officer led Bella to the edge of the woods, where a blonde doctor was hunched over Charlie.

"Mr. Cullen?" Bella hesitantly spoke. "Will my dad be okay?"

Bella's heart froze as an unusually pale Carlisle Cullen with topaz-colored eyes turned around.


	11. Livio

"_Carlisle_?" Bella gasped.

Every little moment that had happened since Bella's wedding came crashing down, blurring in together like one would see through a kaleidoscope. The worlds of reality and dreams merged together in a vortex of chaos. In a moment of panic, Bella felt her vision completely blacken.

"Bella."

Bella flinched as a rag drenched with water was placed upon her forehead. She hesitantly opened her eyes to meet Carlisle's golden gaze. She quietly observed the chiseled frown on his face, and shuddered at the sweet scent of his breath.

"Why-_How_," Bella corrected herself. "Are you here?"

"It's a complicated matter," Carlisle replied slowly. "I can't give you a proper explanation until the Sustantivo prevalence is dealt with."

"Who's with you?"

As if by magic, Edward appeared slowly from the shadows with a pained frown. He had his hands in his pockets, and his tousled bronze locks were slightly greasy. Even so, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

"Edward!"

Bella unthinkingly ran to Edward and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I knew you had to be real!" Bella sobbed into his chest. "You don't know how much I've missed you!"

Edward gently pried himself from Bella's arms.

"I'm so sorry," Edward whispered. His coal black eyes looked hungrily into her chocolate brown ones.

"Don't be sorry," Bella pleaded. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it was," He replied dully. "It is entirely my fault that you are here, under threat once more because of my vampire nature."

"Edward, you aren't making any sense," Bella scolded. "It isn't anyone's fault."

"Is Charlie's condition stable?" Edward asked.

"Yes. He's lost a lot of blood, but he'll be perfectly fine once an ambulance comes by."

"Good. Please stay with him until so," Edward slipped his freezing hand into Bella's and managed a smile. "Do you feel like riding on my back again? I promise to give you all the answers you want."

"I'd love to," She replied with a wide smile.

Once Edward was sure that Bella was secure on his back, he gave Carlisle one last nod before sprinting into the thick forest. Bella began to relax once she closed her eyes and felt the wind whip through her hair. After a minute or so, Edward tapped her on the shoulder.

"We're here."

Bella jumped off of Edward's back and observed her surroundings. They were in a small, bleak clearing that only had a few withered flowers and a boulder or two.

"Would you like to ask me a few questions first, or would you prefer I give you a full explanation?"

"Are you real?"

"Yes."

"Is the human version of you real?"

"Yes."

_Well, that clears everything right up,_ A small voice replied sarcastically.

"Could you start from the beginning?"

"Sit over there on the moss and make yourself comfortable." Edward pointed towards a large boulder covered with thick, green moss. "This will take some time to explain."

She stepped over to the foot of the boulder and with a sigh, rested her head against the soft moss.

"A few weeks before our wedding, Emmett and I went hunting at the Goat Rocks Wilderness and we encountered a lone vampire…"

_The forest was enveloped in a tense silence, thick with the numerous scents of woodland animals. The wave of a mountain lion's scent hit Edward's nostrils, causing his deadly sharp teeth to be wet with venom. He silently followed the lion's scent, extra careful to keep his own sickly sweet scent from being detected. Mountain Lions were unnaturally scarce that season, and Edward wanted to take each opportunity he had to feed before his wedding._

_A low snarl escaped from his lips as he finally discovered his target, which was only a few meters away. It was lazily licking its huge paws, blissfully unaware of any nearby danger. Edward's muscles tensed as another wave of venom ran through his teeth. Once the lion rested its head upon its paws and closed its eyes, Edward prepared for the final leap._

_But right as he was about to pounce, a flurry of pale punches and guttural roars came flying by. A string of curses left Edward's mouth as he saw the lion leap into the bushes._

"_I almost had him, Emmett!" Edward growled angrily._

"_Help me pin him down, Edward!" Emmett was fighting head-on against a vicious, male vampire._

_Edward swiftly pounced upon the vampire, securely pinning his wrists to the ground._

"_Don't make me go back there!" The vampire hissed, struggling against Edward's grip._

"_What are you talking about?" Edward asked. "Who are you?"_

_"Felix will have my head if I return there!"_

_"Felix?" Edward looked questioningly at Emmett. "Do you think-"_

"_Are there any other Felixs you know of?"_

_"Probably not."_

_"What should we do now?"_

_Edward focused his gaze back to the vampire, whom had strangely begun to relax. He quickly inspected the vampire and decided that he was no longer a danger to anyone. This lone vampire wasn't a newborn, and Edward was confident that he would be able to take him down again if he became violent._

"_We should take him to Carlisle," Edward replied. "Follow him closely, just in case he attacks either of us again."_

_Fortunately, Carlisle was only a few miles away. He was conversing with Alice, and quickly turned around at the sound of nearby bushes rustling to reveal Edward, Emmett, and a lifeless-looking vampire._

"_What happened?" Carlisle asked with a quizzical brow._

"_We found a lone vampire while hunting," Edward replied. "He mentioned Felix. Do you think he may have connections with the Volturi?"_

"_What's your name?" Carlisle asked the vampire._

"_Livio." The vampire answered with a heavy Italian accent._

"_Do you know who the Volturi are?"_

"_No…" A flash of fear appeared in Livio's eyes._

_Carlisle gave a small nod, allowing Edward to read Livio's mind for more information._

_Edward's mind instantly flinched as a torrent of thoughts filled with confusion and chaos shrieked throughout the clearing. However, he was able to collect a few facts before recoiling back._

"_He's been tortured by the Volturi for the past few months, and had just escaped a few days ago," Edward reported. "And…he has the power to travel through alternate universes."_

_"I've never heard of such a power in existence before." Carlisle said, clearly in awe._

_There was an awkward pause, which Carlisle was oblivious to. It was Emmett whom decided to break the ice._

"_What do we do with him now?"_

"_We should send him back to Italy," Edward suggested with a firm tone._

"_No," Carlisle spoke up. "The Volturi will come back to torture him."  
_

_"That is precisely why we should send him away!" Edward snarled. "The wedding is only two weeks away!"_

_"Why not send him to Alaska with Tanya's coven?" Alice piped up. "We can warn them of the Volturi first."_

"_But this is the first town the Volturi will search if they do want him back!" Edward argued._

"_I suppose you're right," Carlisle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, if the Volturi do want Livio back, then they will arrive here regardless of whether he _is _here or not. We may as well keep him here."_

_Edward gave a frustrated roar, punching into a nearby boulder, which shattered into millions of shards. _

_"The Volturi sent him here on purpose! They're using him as a warning to us!"_

"_Just to be safe, we'll send in a few more wedding invitations to members of our 'family' in case the Volturi do decide to appear at your wedding," Carlisle reassured Edward._

"_If you are building a small army against the so-called Volturi," Livio spoke up. "Then I will offer myself to you as a solider. I've had experience in the military before I was transformed into a vampire."_

"_Thank you, Livio," Carlisle said with a grateful smile. "However, it is not necessary that you do this. It isn't your responsibility to carry the burdens of our coven."_

"_No, it would be my pleasure to do this," Livio insisted with a hard glint in his eye. "I want to have my revenge against what they've done to me."_

"So it was decided that Livio would be a part of our small 'army'," Edward explained with a loud sigh. "We even convinced Tanya's coven to surround the church while we got married."

"So…" Bella was trying to digest his entire story. "Something went wrong?"

"Horribly wrong."


	12. Tears of Joy

"What went wrong?" Bella questioned. "Did the Volturi turn up after all?"

"Please be patient and allow me to finish the story." Edward requested with a slightly amused smile.

"Sorry."

_It was the day of the wedding. Edward, dressed in his tuxedo, went over the plan with Tanya's coven for the final time._

"_Remember to hide yourselves in the forest surrounding the chapel, and-"_

"_The wedding is starting." Carlisle warned with a grim smile._

"_We'll keep our eyes peeled for the Volturi and any other intruders." Tanya promised. _

"_Thank you," Edward added in an apologetic manner. "I appreciate that all of you came down here from Alaska."_

_He gave them one last smile before entering the chapel._

"_Take your places!" Tanya yelled as she swiftly climbed up the tallest, nearby tree._

_Livio and the others quietly obeyed and did their best to blend into their surroundings. They began to relax a little once their preternatural ears picked up the priest assisting Edward and Bella with their vows. _

_In the midst of the relaxed silence, a loud rustling sound came from the bushes Livio was hiding in. Tanya unconsciously tightened her grip on a branch, accidentally snapping it in half._

"_Is everything all right down there, Livio?"_

_"Yes. It was just a raccoon passing by."_

_She let loose a quiet sigh, and averted her gaze from the bushes to the chapel. She quickly became impatient as the minutes slowly passed by. For some reason or another, she personally couldn't wait until she and her coven returned to Alaska. There was something very strange about Forks that really creeped her out._

"_Hello there!" A cheery voice from behind greeted._

_Tanya's eyes widened in shock and she nearly lost her footing, as she recognized Aro._

_Before she could even scream for help, the ancient vampire slapped his hand over her mouth._

"_Send Edward even the slightest distressed thought, and I'll have your coven murdered," Aro whispered in her ear. "I, for one, find this entire situation distasteful, but it _was_ Edward's fault for not joining us when he had the chance."_

_Tanya stared in horror as Livio ran headlong into one of the chapel's windows._

_As Bella was about to say, "I do," Livio jumped through a narrow window, grabbed Bella, and vanished from sight. Just as Livio disappeared with Bella in his arms, another Bella in an identical wedding dress appeared._

_This new Bella looked around, absolutely frozen to the spot. Letting out a shocked gasp, she fainted in Edward's arms._

What in God's name just happen?_ Edward thought._

_A few screams came from the crowd at the sight of the broken window and the unconscious Bella._

_As Edward stood there, not knowing what to do, Alice and Rosalie came over to try to revive Bella._

"_Can I get a rag and some water?" Alice shouted impatiently._

_The crowd before her merely stared at her with shocked expressions. A few of the guests looked like they were going to burst into tears. Charlie appeared before Edward and demanded to inspect her._

"_Was she cut by any of the shards?" Charlie asked with a piercing glare._

_It took Edward a few seconds to regain his usually cool composure._

"_No," Edward replied. "But I'll have Carlisle inspect her just in case."_

_After gently transferring Bella into Charlie's arms, Edward approached Carlisle._

"_Make sure Bella's okay," Edward ordered in a low voice. "I'll be outside."_

_The previous silence in the pews broke into a low chatter, and grew into a dull roar. Anger soon replaced shock, and Edward was very tempted to abandon his original plan and take on the Volturi by himself._

_Whatever they were planning to do next, Edward vowed to himself that he would stop them once and for all. Even if he had to destroy the Volturi one by one for all to see, he would if it ensured Bella's safety._

"_Good afternoon, Edward." Aro greeted politely, surrounded by the rest of the black clad Volturi. Tanya and her coven were nowhere to be seen._

"_I'm not absolutely positive that you've noticed this by now…" Aro said almost hesitantly. "Livio is on our side and he has taken Bella with him."_

_Not trusting himself to speak without going on a rampage, Edward silently fumed. He knew that there would be a deal involved, and thought it best to listen to all Aro had to say before doing anything else. He would (if his patience held) form a new battle plan once he knew what he was dealing with._

"_We will be willing to give her back in return of your word."_

"_What do you want?"_

_"We want you to join us."_

_Silence._

"_Are you willing to keep your side of the bargain?"_

"…"

"_Edward?"_

"_Yes."_

"_We will give you back Bella as soon as possible."_

_Before Edward could even ask when, the Volturi disappeared from sight. He stared blankly at the wall of trees before him. His bottled up anger literally exploded from the unbearable pressure, and he lost all logic and reason. He wiped out the thick wall of trees with only two blows. The sight of the thousands of tree limbs flying passed by him only infuriated him even more._

"_Why can't I ever keep Bella safe?!" He roared as he pulverized nearby boulders into fine dust._

_He gave a surprised snarl as a pair of unusually thick arms wrapped around his torso. He continued to flail to the best of his abilities even as the pair of arms tried to crush him._

"_Edward, stop!" Emmett yelled as he was forced to tighten his hold on Edward._

_Emmett patiently waited a few minutes for Edward to calm down. Once he did, he carefully set him on the ground._

"_They took her."_

"_What?"_

"_The Volturi took Bella."_

"_What the hell are you talking about? Bella's in the chapel."_

"_That isn't our Bella. Livio turned against us and replaced her with another Bella from another universe. At least, I'm sure that's what happened."_

"_I still don't understand what happened."_

_"Didn't you notice Bella appearing and disappearing after Livio jumped through the window?"_

_"Now that you mention it, I did notice a weird blur."_

_"They promised to bring her back if I joined them."_

_"What did you say?"_

"_I agreed to it."_

"_What the hell did you do that for?!" Emmett roared, clenching his fists together._

"_I don't know," Edward replied with a snarl. "I had to buy some time!"_

_"__Let's go tell Carlisle, then."_

Bella stared softly into Edward's onyx eyes, not sure how to respond. At a loss for words, she got up from the boulder and hesitantly approached Edward. She wrapped her arms around his icy neck and gave him a hug.

"I'm so sorry Edward," Her throat choked up with tears. "I can't believe that you went through all of that, especially for me."

"Bella," Edward let out a low sigh. "You still don't understand what I've been trying to tell you all along," He now placed his hands tenderly on her face. "You are the most important being in my life. That is why I cannot afford to have you here. You must leave Forks as soon as possible."

"O-okay," Bella agreed with a sob. "I'll leave for Florida. Just let me be with you for a while longer."

Edward's facial features softened, and he lightly traced the outlines of her jaw. He smiled her favorite crooked smile and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks.

Leaning his face into hers, he tenderly pressed his lips against hers. Oh, how she missed the icy, yet sweet taste of his lips! Love radiated between the two; it felt as nothing could possibly break their private sphere filled with pure love and longing. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Bella could now perfectly understand Edward's seemingly irrational concern for her. There had always been a part of her that had doubted the strength of Edward's love. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that, yes, Edward's love for her was just as strong, maybe even stronger, as he promised.

Even if their positions had been reversed, Bella would've done the same thing. She too would've begged Edward to stay away as far as possible. As cheesy as it may sound, Bella believed that she and Edward had reached a new level in their love for one another. She had once believed that they had reached the highest level in their relationship before their wedding. She now realized that there were still challenges awaiting them both. They would, one way or another, overcome even more obstacles and continue to watch their love transform.

Their lips broke apart, and Edward was concerned to find Bella crying again.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

"I-I'm not sad," She giggled. "I'm crying tears of joy."

Still sporting a quizzical frown, Edward kissed her forehead. Bella began to half-giggle and half-cry. He looked down in surprise as a snort erupted in the middle of her giggling.

"Way to go and kill the romantic mood," Edward teased with a genuine chuckle. "I didn't know you'd be quite this excited to see me."

"Sorry." Bella apologized with a laugh.

"Don't be," He replied, running his fingers through her slightly frizzy hair. "You're cute when you snort."

Bella slipped her hand into Edward's, and wordlessly led him to the boulder she was previously resting on. He laid upon the moss, and Bella sat in his lap, contently linking her hands with his. She nuzzled into his arms, and gave a satisfied sigh as the sun overhead broke through the gray clouds and allowed its rays to cover her like a blanket. All of her never ending weeks of depression were worth living through, just to now have it end with her lying in Edward's arms.

Edward too felt his guard completely down, and allowed himself to let out a relieved sigh. It didn't matter if these were their last moments together. Now that Bella had a glimpse at the extent of his love for her, he knew he would be able to take on anything and anyone.

"So…" Bella spoke softly. "What happened to Tanya's coven?"

"They're here right now."

"The other me?"

"She's currently in the original universe with Jacob."

"Jacob came back?"

"Yes. He came back only a week after you were kidnapped."

Bella desperately wanted to say that she would have to thank Jacob later, but she didn't even know whether she'd ever return to her universe or not. From the sound of things, it seemed like an unlikely ending.

"Wait…" Bella said, realizing that something was off about Edward's story. "How did you get here if Livio is with the Volturi?"

"Remember when I told you what Tanya told me about the rustling of the bushes?"

"You mean, when we were getting married and her coven hid near the chapel?"

"Yes. It turns out that the Livio I had met was kidnapped and switched out by this universe's Livio. He was sent to an entirely different universe. Fortunately, he eventually found his way back to the original universe."

"How come I've only seen you in my dreams up until now?"

"Unfortunately, our Livio does not have complete mastery of his skills. He never trained himself. The other Livio has better control over his abilities."

"But why in my _dreams_?"

"It's when the mind is unguarded and therefore, the most susceptible to outside influences."

"So are you here to bring me back home? Do you know what happened to that Spanish werewolf pack?"

"Actually, we-"

"Edward!" Jasper appeared with a panicked look on his face. "The Volturi are coming!"

"Take Bella back to Carlisle," Edward ordered. "I'll go join with Emmett and the others. Goodbye, Bella."

Bella and Edward shared one last short, yet passionate kiss before parting ways. Although he managed to smile, the smile did not reach his eyes. Before Bella could believe it, Edward disappeared into thin air.

"We have to hurry." Jasper informed urgently while offering her his hands.

Bella stood up and climbed onto Jasper's back. She shut her eyes and patiently waited for him to start running. After a few minutes, Jasper hurriedly dropped her off at the edge of the woods and disappeared.

"Charlie is at the hospital," Carlisle informed her. "We better leave before the Volturi reaches us."

Just as he opened his mouth to say something else, a voice neither of them wanted to hear for as long as they lived spoke up.

"Aro's too soft on you," Jane stated with a slight smirk. "I, however, will not show you any mercy whatsoever."


	13. The Truth About the Volturi

Before Bella even had time to _think _of running away, Carlisle appeared in front of her, while protectively spreading his arms out. Jane's cold, sarcastic gaze grew into a glare seething with livid fury.

"If it weren't for your filthy _Edward_," Jane spat his name as if it was poison on her tongue. "Then we wouldn't have traveled to this alternate universe. If it weren't for him…" Her throat began to choke up. "Then Alec would still be _alive_!"

An unnatural screech, tinged with hate and grief, erupted from Jane as she lunged towards Carlisle. Keeping his cool, he quickly grabbed Bella by her hand and jumped into the nearest tree. Bella gave a squeal of protest as she felt a bone or two in her wrist crack at an odd angle.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle apologized, his eyes widening in horror. "I'll fit your wrist into a cast as soon as-"

"Look out!" Bella screamed as Jane appeared with a roar. Ignoring the pain in her wrist, Bella hung on to the tree limb for dear life.

Carlisle, clearly caught off-guard, managed to sweep his foot from under Jane's legs. She gave a bloodthirsty snarl as she fell from a devastating height, landing on four feet as a cat would.

"Hold on to my neck," Carlisle said urgently as he set his sights to a taller tree that was at least a hundred feet away.

She bit back a yelp of pain as she securely wrapped her arms around his smooth neck. A gasp of shock escaped her throat as the tree trunk below them began to tilt sideways. As Carlisle began to fumble his grip on the limb, Bella found herself slipping backwards. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as her sweaty fingers lost their grip on Carlisle's stony neck.

Carlisle gave a low snarl, accidentally grabbing Bella's injured wrist to keep her from falling off. Bella's stomach gave a lurch as the now rootless trunk was suddenly thrown in the opposite direction Carlisle wanted to go. Mustering all of his endless strength, he lunged off of the tree and catapulted himself across the blue sky.

A blood-curdling cry stuck halfway in her throat as the wind quickly dried it out. The wind continued to whip through her long hair, which entangled painfully into her open eyelids. Carlisle let out a low line of curses as they neared their designated location. Panic closed up her throat as it was obvious, even to her pitifully human vision, that they weren't going to make it. As she shut her eyes and prepared for the inevitable _splat_, she was pleased to find that the world had stopped spinning.

"D-did we land?" Bella asked with a hoarse cough, too scared to open her eyes.

"Yes," Carlisle replied. "But we have to start moving before Jane catches up to us."

Bella warily opened her eyelids, just to find herself in another tree. She tightened her grip on his neck, trying to prepare herself for another unexpected leap into the sky.

"Get ready!" Carlisle growled as he leapt off of the tree and landed silently into the rest of the woodland.

"Die!" Jane screeched, appearing out of nowhere and landing a powerful punch to his jaw.

Bella fell backwards and dizzyingly landed in a leafy bush. Her vision flickered for a few moments as she tried to re-establish her sense of balance.

"Stay right where you are, Bella!" Carlisle roared furiously. "I'll handle Jane by myself. However, if I become injured or die, run as fast as you can."

"O-okay." Bella managed to squeak.

Bella swiftly ducked into the safety of the bush, easily ignoring the sharp limbs that were digging into her bruised legs. Her aching body tensed at the almost electrical crackle of tension in the eerie silence. The restrained brawl between Carlisle and Jane had come to a temporary end; they now studied each other with hateful, yet calculating glares.

Meanwhile, Bella felt as if her lungs were about to explode under the pressure of uncertainty.

_How can they just stand there and stay like that for so long?_

For what seemed like an eternity, the two vampires still continued to formulate their latest strategies. As Bella's heart too continued to thump more and more painfully against her rib cage, she contemplated whether she should stay put or run for her life. It took all of her strength to not follow her instincts, which screamed at her to move. She immediately clenched her broken wrist until the pain drowned out everything else.

Her heart skipped a beat as Carlisle finally made the first move.

The battle ended even more quickly than when it had first begun. Bella could see a flurry of complex jabs and kicks between the two, which couldn't have lasted for longer than five seconds. It all ended with Carlisle lying sprawled across the ground, agonized screams erupting from his mouth as Jane used her unique, mind powers to torture him.

"Feel the pain I feel, Carlisle," Jane said in a deadly whisper. "That Alec felt."

Bella screamed, covering her mouth with horror. Bile rose up her throat, and threatened to spill over at the sight of what was once Carlisle.

_Run as fast as you can…_ Carlisle's last words echoed in her mind.

Bella froze as Jane, still wearing the same calculating glare, raised her head to meet Bella's terrified gaze.

_Oh God, I'm not going to make it,_ Bella thought. _I hope Edward will be able to forgive me…_

_No,_ A small, yet defiant voice protested. _You will not throw your life away now._

_Why not? After all, a human being wouldn't be able to outrun Jane._

_Think of Edward, think of Charlie! Are you going to let Carlisle throw his life away for nothing?_

_No! It's impossible!_

Tears began to well up in her eyes, causing Jane's ruby red glare to blur. She desperately wanted to believe in the voice's words, but simply couldn't. It would only be a matter of seconds before she even ceased to exist. What was the point of struggling now?

Suddenly, as if someone had clicked a switch in her brain, all of her memories of Edward came flooding through her waking vision. The way Edward crinkled his nose the first day they met, the way his eyes softened in their private meadow, and the way he radiated with joy on their wedding…

_Run._

Again, as if the same person clicked another switch in her brain, the flood of memories came to an abrupt halt. Her vision became clearer than ever before, and the warmth of hope, tinged with a hint of adrenaline, spread throughout her limbs. Before she exactly knew what she was doing, she picked herself up and bolted out of the bush.

"You honestly believe that you'll be able to run away from _me_?" Jane growled mostly to herself. "I'm getting tired of fooling around."

Blood pounded in Bella's ears as she sprinted through the gaps between trees, not paying any close attention to where she was heading. Her breath soon turned into short gasps, although she continued to run at an increasing pace.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the clearing before her. She only saw a peek of bright light through the overgrowth of vines and leaves entwined together, but it was enough to give her hope and push her body to its limits.

_Yes, I'm almost there!_

Just as she ran halfway through the vines, an icy hand took a hold of her wrist.

The hand pulled her into a tight embrace, and jumped into a large hole in the ground. A terrified scream erupted from Bella's mouth, but was instantly muffled by the same hand. They both landed gracefully on an unusually soft pile of dirt.

The unknown figure let her go with a relieved sigh.

"Welcome to our base," The figure said in a distinct Italian accent.

"Who are you?" Bella demanded.

"I am sure that Edward has told you about me already," He said, still hiding in the shadows. "I am Livio."

"Oh…" Bella replied, remembering what Edward had told her about Livio. "Thank you for saving me back there."

"You're welcome."

"So, what did you mean by 'our' base?"

Livio temporarily disappeared, and after a heavy clunk and the turning of several locks, he returned with a lit lantern in his hand. Bella had to literally bite her lip to keep herself from gasping. Livio's face was heavily scarred, not unlike the state of Jasper's arms. The crescent shaped scars also followed a very similar pattern to Jasper's scars.

Embarrassed, she averted her gaze from Livio's face to his slightly unkempt, black hair.

_Did the Volturi give him those scars?_ Bella wondered in half-fascination and half-horror.

"I apologize for my sudden departure," Livio said with a wistful smile. "I have to ensure the safety of this area from the Volturi's clutches."

"That's all right."

"This is basically our hide-out from the Volturi. Our, meaning, me, Edward, Tanya's coven, and the rest of the Cullens."

"Ah, okay."

"Would you like to take a seat?" Livio offered her a nearby plastic chair.

"Thanks."

Bella slowly set herself into the chair, while gingerly resting her broken wrist upon the arm rest. An awkward silence soon followed. Just as Bella was about to ask something trivial to fill up the silence, Livio spoke up.

"I know you're wondering how I received these scars. I can tell from your curious gaze."

Bella opened her mouth, and quickly closed it, not sure how to respond.

"I don't mind," He replied. "At least, I'm starting to not mind the staring as much as it had at first."

Feeling that the re-telling of his life's story was about to ensue, she found a comfortable position that didn't put too much pressure on her sore limbs.

"I was the victim of a relatively large human massacre caused by the merge of local bands of vampire covens in Italy," He explained with a slightly pained expression. "Although most of my family and friends were killed on the spot, I was one of the few whom survived the unexpected attack. It happened in my first week as a vampire when I first discovered my unusual powers."

"You wouldn't believe how terrified I was when the sky before me opened into a wall of indescribable light…" His voice was barely a whisper. "And to find myself stuck in a new universe, with my loved ones alive…It was just too much for me to handle. I wasn't sure how to travel back, but eventually found my way after a few weeks in hiding."

"The Volturi, as you know, has a notorious reputation for making sure that the human deaths caused by vampires aren't too noticeable. They sent out their accomplices to catch the vampire covens I had mentioned previously. Because of my uncontrollable aggressiveness as a newborn, I never stuck around the same place long enough to know about the Volturi. Somehow, I wandered aimlessly through Europe without ever getting caught by them."

"Once I had felt that I had fully regained control over my senses, I returned to Italy. As hopeless as it seemed, I wanted to double check to see if anyone at _all_ from my family had perhaps survived. Unfortunately, I was caught immediately before I was even able to take a single step into my old village. For the longest time, they had tortured me, and forced me into traveling to hundreds, maybe even _thousands_ of alternate universes. I did not have very good control over my powers back then…"

"Actually, I still do not have complete mastery over my powers yet," He admitted shamefully. "During one of my 'journeys', the Volturi discovered _this _universe. What attracted them to it was the similar Volturi they found here, and the other me that existed here. Unlike me, he has absolute mastery over his traveling abilities. It was there that the two Volturis made a deal with each other.

"The original Volturi promised to get rid of this universe's Sustantivo prevalence, while the other Volturi promised to use their resources to recruit Edward into the original Volturi's forces."

"Oh _no_…" Bella interrupted as she thought back to when she first had met Sustantivo prevalence at La Push. "I know who that werewolf pack is. They even mentioned how they wanted to stick around here to get revenge on the Volturi..."

The relatively small headache Bella sported now grew into a steady pounding, which only seemed to grow worse in result of Livio's discovery. Instead of receiving the clear explanation she expected, she was only left with more questions buzzing around her skull than she had hoped for.


	14. Facing the Demons of One's Soul

Not for the first time, Edward once again silently cursed himself for what had happened in the past few months. It was his fault that he hadn't warned Bella severely enough in her dreams. It was his fault that the Volturi went after him in the first place. It was his fault that he couldn't save Charlie in time.

A wave of alertness unexpectedly washed over him, snapping him back into reality.

"I'm sorry," Edward apologized as he glided through the woods.

"You really need to stop torturing yourself over this," Jasper scolded quietly. "None of this is your fault."

"Yeah, and you know that Bella doesn't blame you for any of this," Emmett agreed. "You're no good for her if you keep spacing out like this."

A grim frown appeared on Edward's face as he thought about what had happened only a few minutes ago. He had allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts after he thought he had finished off the last of the Sustantivo prevalence. Just as he let his guard down, its few remaining members ambushed him. With the help of Emmett and Tanya's coven, he eventually disposed of them. Emmett was absolutely correct; he would be useless to Bella if he continued to become easily distracted.

"You're doing it again."

With an exasperated sigh, he turned his focus back to the present. Now that the werewolf pack was exterminated, Edward wanted to make sure Bella was safe. None of them had reported seeing any of the Volturi for the past few hours, so he had become a little suspicious.

"I wonder where the Volturi are," Edward thought out loud.

"I don't know," Jasper admitted with a thoughtful frown. "Perhaps they're re-gathering to formulate a new plan."

Emmett stiffened as he caught a whiff of two distinct, yet very different scents. They were both faintly sweet, and he was sure that these two scents were located only thirty feet away.

"Edward, Jasper," Emmett said in a low whisper. "I found a couple of scents that belong to other vampires. They're only twenty five feet away or so."

"We'll investigate it, then." Edward replied, his eyes fixed upon the thinning forest before him.

_It's where I last left Bella with Carlisle!_

Nothing could've prepared them for what they saw once they reached the end of the woods.

They discovered Jane humming a cheerful tune to herself as she carefully examined what was clearly Carlisle's left shoe. Stepping backwards in horror, Edward tuned out his brothers' agitated thoughts to look for Carlisle's thoughts. Any last shred of hope he had held on to was now long gone, as he continued to fruitlessly extend the perimeters of his hearing range.

Nothing.

He couldn't even detect a _whisper_ of Carlisle's thoughts. The calm, yet passionate texture of Carlisle's numerous thoughts were never to be heard again. Before Edward was able to fully register the fact that his father figure - _no, father, _he mentally corrected himself - was dead, a crowd of new voices appeared. It was none other than the Volturi.

_Volturi._

Edward's teeth grinded furiously together as the hot red lettering of the name of his father's murderers presented itself before him.

_They are going to pay for what they have done to my family._

This was Edward's last coherent thought before complete rage consumed his entire being.

Jasper and Emmett merely stared as Edward lunged towards Jane with a vicious snarl. A playful, yet calm smirk appeared on Jane's face as Edward wrapped his hands around her neck, which only made him even more furious.

"Now you finally have a taste of your own medicine," She managed to whisper. "I considered taking your mate instead, but why should I? I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you'll show your true interior, your inner monster, to her. Feel free to say goodbye to Bella for the last time."

Struggling to regain his logic, he turned his livid gaze to Bella's. A stream of tears ran down her face, which saturated the hand Marcus had around her mouth. Livio was nowhere to be seen.

"Bella…" Edward growled, turning his gaze back to Jane.

This had to be the toughest decision he had ever faced in his hundred plus years of existence. Should he avenge his father, or save the love of his life?_Forget the female human, _his inner demons commanded. _Get your revenge on these disgusting, oppressive beings that call themselves the royalty of vampires. After all, you wouldn't have met the girl if it weren't for Carlisle._

_No_, Edward argued back. _They'll kill Bella if I kill Jane._

His hold on Jane's neck began to tighten. If he squeezed her neck a few more centimeters, the bones would completely shatter.

_It doesn't matter!_ The voice snarled. _They'll kill you if you spare Jane. You might as well avenge Carlisle while you have the time!_

_If my death ensures Bella's safety, then let me die!_

_Think of the rest of your family. Think of the rest of the vampires worldwide. You'll be doing them a favor by killing the Volturi's most lethal member._

_SHUT UP!!!_

Did his inner demon have a point, though? This was probably the closest Jane had ever been to true death. If he didn't kill her now, then who would? Wasn't it also true that more people would die if he _didn't_ kill her?

"Choose wisely," Jane wheezed, her eyes full with unfiltered hate. "Your human, or the rest of your coven?"Choking back a wave of dry sobs, Edward made his final decision.

_Please forgive me._

Just as he was about to take action, a pair of gigantic wolves tackled both him and Jane from behind.

"STOP!" Bella's fierce cry was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.

_Whaa-?_

Instead of being pulled into the fiery pits of the ground as he had originally imagined would happen, he was lulled into a room full of blinding light. The white light instantly dimmed down to a volume that was comfortable enough to his sensitive eyesight.

"Where am I?" Edward voiced out loud.

"I'm not exactly sure, myself." Carlisle replied, resting his hand on Edward's shoulder.

Edward gave a yelp of surprise, stumbling backwards at the unexpected sight of Carlisle.

"I never would've imagined that I would end up in the same place as you."

"What compels you to say _that_?" Carlisle asked, looking hurt.

"It's just that…well…erm…you're a much better person than I am."

To Edward's complete surprise, Carlisle landed a well-aimed punch to his nose. He was too stunned to even react. He fell flat on his back to stare at Carlisle with a shocked expression.

"If you can't even learn to love yourself, how can you give Bella your whole heart?"

"How can you say that, Carlisle?"

"Bella will never completely be out of harm's way as long as there is doubt in your will."

"I love Bella with my entire being! I'll do anything to ensure her safety!"

"Except letting go of the demons of your past."

For the second time that day, Edward became completely speechless.

"You're not allowing Bella to heal you. You're still keeping your flaws hidden from her as long as possible. When you first fell in love with her, I had not noticed much improvement in your well-being. As time passed by, I realized that it wasn't her fault. It was yours.

"I…why didn't you..?"

"I was meaning to talk to you after we return home, but I obviously had to tell you now."

"I need some time to think over what you just said."

With an understanding smile, Carlisle disappeared to who-knows-where.

Edward's first reaction to what Carlisle had said was one of utter shock and hurt. He was happier once Bella came along, at least, that was what he thought. Life had meaning once again, and he felt it was his responsibility to keep her safe. He then thought back when he would watch Bella in her sleep, and let his mind wander about the mysteries of the future.

He also remembered when he had left Bella, but for what he thought were good reasons. It had turned out that she suffered even more than he had.

_How can Bella love a monster like me?_

_Carlisle was right. Why, you don't deserve her if you can't even try harder to accept her love._

"But how?" Edward cried, wringing his hands in frustration.

"Talk to her," Carlisle re-appeared. "Express your each and every thought. Let her understand you and how your mind works. Only then will you be able to accept her love and give it in return."

A small weight lift from his chest as Carlisle said this.

"I see."

"Good luck, son." Carlisle spread his arms out with a softened gaze.

With a grateful smile, Edward returned the gesture and hugged him.

"You too, father."

The white light from before returned, and momentarily blinded his vision. Without warning, he awoke from unconsciousness to have Emmett violently shaking his shoulders.

"You awake yet?!"

"_Argh_! Yes, yes, I'm back! Now let me go!"

Letting go of his shoulders, Edward quickly sat up with a gasp. He looked down, and saw stitches cover various parts of his arms and legs.

"Where's Bella? Where's the Volturi? What happened?"

"Stay still," Sam warned. "Your stitches will fall apart if you don't."

Leah and an annoyed Jacob appeared before him.

"We apologize for giving you those injuries in the first place," Leah spoke up. "It's just that you vampires all smell the same to us."

"I accept your apology," Edward replied. "But what exactly happened while I was…gone?"

"Long story short, Sam's pack and both Volturis from both universes fought. We won, and they eventually destroyed each other," Bella wrapped her arms lightly around his neck. "The two Volturis, that is."

"Bella!"

He locked his lips against hers, giving her a soft, yet passionate kiss. Feeling the heat of her blush reach his lips, he gently backed away.

"Livio survived," Bella reported, her face as red as a tomato. "The good Livio, I mean. So did everyone else, except for Carlisle…"

"I spoke with Carlisle while I was unconscious."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Now let's go find Livio."

After a few minutes, Edward and Bella gathered everyone whom belonged to the original universe together. They profusely thanked Sam's pack before getting ready to leave.

"Be sure to travel back if you ever need anything again." Sam promised with a polite smile.

"Try to transport us back to the right universe, please." Emmett chuckled, half-joking and half-serious.

"I'll try my best," Livio said sarcastically. "Link your hands together, everybody!"

With matching grins, Bella and Edward gave each other's hands a quick squeeze. As long as they remained together, Bella wouldn't have minded if they ended up on Mars.

**THE END**

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Hey guys! I'll also be posting an epilogue for this fic as soon as possible ^-^ I hope you enjoyed reading this, because I absolutely loved writing it, and reading all of your constructive/encouraging reviews.


	15. Epilogue

It was finally the long-awaited wedding day that Edward and Bella had been equally eager to go through for the second time. Of course, Bella was bombarded with numerous questions - both Renee and Charlie had when they arrived at the chapel.

"What happened during the first wedding?"

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Where were you for the past few months?"

"Phil and I had sent you-"

Absolutely and utterly swamped by their never ending interrogation, she excused herself to the dressing room.

Noticing the disgruntled expression on Bella's face, Alice approached her with the same wedding dress from before in her arms.

"This wedding will have a complete start and end, with or without you." Alice joked, handing her the delicate dress and its matching shoes.

"It _better_," Bella grumbled as she changed out of her clothes and not-so-carefully into her dress. "My parents are begging to know where I've been for the past few months."

"Aw, don't be so grumpy today, Bella," Alice pouted with her arms crossed. "You don't usually get to throw _two _bachelorette parties in the span of _five _months!"

"Oh God, one bachelorette party was enough…" Bella gave an involuntary shudder at her memories of last night's party. She had called up Edward halfway through the party, and had him pick her up and drive her home.

"Party pooper…"

After a few minutes of Alice fussing over Bella's dress, Rosalie announced that it was time for the wedding to start. Charlie appeared even more ecstatic than he had been last time, and offered her his arm.

"Second time's the charm, Bells." He whispered with a lighthearted wink.

Bella had to cover her mouth with her silk gloved hand to keep herself from laughing. Friends and relatives whispered approvingly among themselves as Bella and Charlie slowly made their way down the aisle. Bella looked absolutely radiant in her elegant, yet charming dress. Her cheeks had a healthy, pink tinge to them and a bright sparkle in her eyes.

Some said she was on a diet, while others recognized the simple fact that she was in love, the kind people dedicated their entire lives searching for.

Bella gave a small gulp as she stared intently at the floor like it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen in her life. All she could do at that point was to hope "she" didn't faint "again" for not too dissimilar reasons.

When she reached the altar, she gave Charlie a grateful hug before setting her eyes upon her husband to-be. To her surprise, it was Edward whom had the awed look on his face. She had to bite back embarrassed giggles as Edward mouthed, "You're the most beautiful girl in the multiverses."

As she tried to appear attentive to the priest's rambling, she envisioned what the rest of her life would look like. She and Edward would have private picnics in their meadow yearly, or maybe have an occasional dinner at La Bella Italia. Heck, it didn't matter much to her what they did as long as they spent the rest of their lives together.

"I, Edward Cullen, take you Isabella Swan, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

"I, Isabella Swan, take you Edward Cullen, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

"I now pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Bella's heart exploded with joy as Edward placed a hand on the small of her back, expertly creating an arch and pressing his lips softly against hers.

An explosion of wolf whistles and cheers came from the pews.

Bella's face turned a deep shade of red as he continued to deepen the kiss. All of their unspoken secrets, dreams, and desires merged into one kiss they were dying to share for months. As the kiss once again became gentle and sweet, it expressed a mutual promise to keep each other safe from the world, and especially from themselves.

Backing away, Edward led her down the aisle with a wide grin. Confused, Bella followed the direction his gaze was at. Her mouth opened and a delighted squeal escaped when she noticed her mother at the piano in the corner, playing a segment of Clair de Lune by Debussy.

"Oh, _Edward_!" She jumped into his arms, and allowed herself to shed a few tears. The noise of the chatty crowd dissipated, and all that was left was her, Edward, and the nostalgic tune of Clair de Lune. They continued to ignore the rest of the world as he lightly spun her in a graceful circle.

"I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't met you," Bella said in a whisper. "Care to remind me how I came to stumble upon such crazy luck again?"

"Luck, chance, fate…" Edward sighed. "For the longest time, I believed these words to be completely meaningless to me. That is, until you came along."

"This is much too sappy for my tastes," She joked. "Let's cut the clichés and get out of here. There is a certain meadow in the middle of nowhere with our names on it."

**END**


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